TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Jayna Sullivan said missing her son, Garrett Sands, is an active part of each day.
“My family has come a long way,” Jayna said. “We’ve just learned how to coexist with grief.”
Garrett was killed in a shooting incident at a home in Terre Haute in March 2018, and his death became the center of a reckless homicide case in Vigo County.
“I didn’t know what reckless homicide was, exactly,” Jayna said. “But I learned quickly what it was and what it wasn’t.”
Reckless homicide, both at the time of Garrett’s death, and still today, is a Level 5 felony in Indiana.
Level 5 felonies in the Hoosier state come with a penalty range of 1-6 years incarceration and a fine up to $10,000.
“Really, the six years is not the advisory,” Vigo County Prosector Terry Modesitt said. “What that means is the person that committed the crime has to have a previous criminal record and other factors have to exist or they’ll never even get the six years.”
Other crimes that fall under a Level 5 felony charge in Indiana include: