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Woman Sentenced In Death of Nevada Officer
01-21-2005 | Officer.Com

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A woman convicted of causing the death of a Reno police officer has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Anna Marie Jackson was convicted of having marijuana metabolite in her system when she pulled out from a commercial driveway into the path of motorcycle officer Mike Scofield in September 2002.

Scofield, who was responding to an accident, died at the scene.

During the sentencing hearing Thursday, Scofield's widow described the pain caused to her and her family.

"Anna, how can I explain to you the breath-crushing pain I've been in during the last two years?" Sherry Scofield said, speaking from the witness stand in Washoe District Court. "The love I can never reclaim - not in this lifetime."

"There is a knot - a hole filled with scar tissue - that is just to the left of center in my chest," she said, touching her heart. "I miss Mike more than you can possibly know."

Jackson will remain on house arrest and return to Judge Janet Berry's court Jan. 28 for a hearing on her request to delay the sentence while she appeals her conviction.

Jackson's lawyer, Ken Stover, said he was pleased that she received the minimum sentence and looked forward to arguing the appeal.

But District Attorney Dick Gammick criticized the ruling was "a miscarriage of justice."

"The decision by Judge Berry was absolutely ludicrous," Gammick said. "She killed a cop."

While Sherry Scofield spoke critically about Jackson's decision to smoke marijuana, she also spoke with tenderness and compassion toward the woman who changed her life.

"I wish you knew how much you matter to me," Scofield said. "I've been praying for you since the day Mike died."

Jackson choked with tears as she told Sherry Scofield she was sorry for the pain she caused the officer's family, friends and co-workers.

"No matter what sentence I receive, I know I will be OK - it will never be as hard as what I've lived with since the accident,'' Jackson said. "Every day the first thing I think about is Officer Scofield and every night, he is the last thing on my mind."

"If I could have changed places with him, I would have."

Jackson faced two to 20 years on the single count of driving while having a prohibited amount of a prohibited substance in the blood, causing death.

Before sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Bruce Hahn told the judge Jackson never has had a traffic ticket and has behaved well through the legal process but has not taken full responsibility for causing the crash.

"She has said things like, 'I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,''' Hahn said. "What I gather is she doesn't think she did anything wrong.''

Instead of the two-year minimum, Hahn said three years would be more appropriate.

"This man was a father, a spouse, a church servant and a community servant," Hahn said. "A two-year minimum is not meaningful to the community."

After Berry said Jackson deserved the minimum sentence, Hahn said he was disappointed with the decision.

"I'm sure the judge did what she thought was best," he said.