BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A man who had faced a murder charge in connection with a chase that led to a deadly crash in Oildale pleaded no contest Tuesday to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
James Everett Thomas, 35, also pleaded no contest to recklessly evading a peace officer and vehicle theft. Other charges were dismissed.
Rapper ‘Blueface’ transferred to North Kern State Prison for probation violation
The plea agreement was negotiated between prosecutor Kacie Barrier and defense lawyer Victor Nasser.
At sentencing, family of Renee Anette Stansbury, who suffered fatal injuries while a passenger in the pickup Thomas drove, spoke with emotion of their loss.
They said they don’t know Thomas — and don’t know what the connection was between him and Stansbury — but are satisfied with the sentence he received.
Stansbury’s sister, Michelle Stansbury, said she hoped their comments gave him some sense of the person he killed — and what she meant to them.