For her role in a DUI accident that killed her boyfriend last year, 24-year-old Sheraea Lanae Gatlin received a sentence of five years on probation.
The sentence was handed down by Fresno Superior Court Judge Alvin Harrell III. Also handed down was a suspended five-year prison sentence. The sentencing was completed on September 16.
The accident occurred on August 10, 2015. Gatlin and her boyfriend, 23-year-old Rodrigo Delgado Bravo, had been drinking at a pool hall. Bravo did not want to leave his Ford Mustang at the location overnight but felt he was too intoxicated to drive home. He believed that Gatlin was less intoxicated, so he asked her to drive. However, she was unfamiliar with driving a manual transmission.
This unfamiliarity resulted in Gatlin allegedly pressing the gas instead of the brake and crashing into a tree. Her speed at the time was 25-35 m.p.h.
Gatlin’s attorney asked for probation due to her having no prior criminal record at the time of the crash. She pleaded guilty to all charges against her. She was visibly shaken during the proceedings and read a short letter of apology. She had been facing up to nine years in prison.
The Gatlins and Bravos are next door neighbors whose families have known one another for decades.
The Bravo family attended the proceedings with blown up pictures of their deceased relative. They are not happy with the sentence Gatlin received. They believe that she should have served jail time.
Gatlin will be transferred from state prison where she was being evaluated to Fresno County Jail where she will serve the first year of her probation. It is possible she will be released early for good behavior.
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