KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas – 34-year-old Warren Ray Patton Jr. was sentenced this morning to 18 years in prison for manslaughter for the June 9, 2012, head-on collision on Farm-to-Market (FM) 741 which resulted in the death of off-duty Dallas County Constable 41-year-old Guy Farley of Crandall, Texas.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas – 34-year-old Warren Ray Patton Jr. was sentenced this morning to 18 years in prison for manslaughter for the June 9, 2012, head-on collision on Farm-to-Market (FM) 741 which resulted in the death of off-duty Dallas County Constable 41-year-old Guy Farley of Crandall, Texas.
Families for the victim and defendant looked on as Patton stood to hear the sentencing this morning from the jury, which consisted of seven women and five men. The jury unanimously sentenced Patton to 18 years, just shy of the legal maximum sentence of 20 years, in prison and imposed a $10,000 fine plus court costs.
Patton was remanded into the custody of the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office and his current bond was discharged.
Patton was indicted and charged with one count of intoxication manslaughter and one count of manslaughter in December of 2012. Last week, the jury acquitted Patton of intoxication manslaughter and convicted him for manslaughter after hearing three days of testimony.
RELATED: For complete trial coverage, click here.
Annette Farley, Guy's mother, spoke to Patton while reading a victim impact statement, “Killing my son has affected myself and my family. The hurting never stops … My prayer is nobody has to deal with the pain we have.”
“When this is over, your family will be able to get in a car and see you in prison or wherever you are,” she said. “We have to get in a car and visit a marble slab.”
“I pray you change your life and I pray for your family,” she said speaking to Patton who had begun crying.
During the sentencing hearing on Friday, Kaufman County District Attorney's Office prosecutor Shelton Gibbs asked the jury for a maximum sentence to send a message to Kaufman County that reckless driving won't be tolerated.
Chief Prosecutor Marc Moffitt stated after the sentencing, “If that sentence were to reach one person out there and that one person decides, 'you know what, maybe I shouldn't drink and drive.' They may have just saved a life and they will never know it.”
Messages for Patton's defense attorneys were not returned Monday afternoon before the time of press.
Suzette Pylant, a MADD Victim Advocate who attended the trial, supplied this written statement to the media: “Mr. Patton made his choices and the jury chose the consequences. As prosecutor Gibbs stated in his closing statement 'Guy Farley's loved ones have been given a life sentence.' A life sentence of grief, yearning, and wondering why. Mr. Patton will serve his sentence and be returned to his family. Guy Farley won't, not in this lifetime.”