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Teen Whose Mom Died While Fleeing Police Sentenced

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 25, 2009

A 17-year-old Orlando teenager pleaded guilty this morning to charges he fled from police after a Tampa robbery last year and then smashed the car into two utility poles in St. Petersburg, killing his mother, who was riding as a passenger.

Junior H. Rodney had been charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident involving death. He bolted after the wreck, leaving his mother, Angela Rodney, 36, who was in the back seat.

Pinellas Circuit Judge R. Timothy Peters sentenced the teen to four years in prison, followed by two years of probation.

The sentence was a compromise of sorts between what prosecutors and Rodney's public defender sought as punishment.

Outside court, Assistant State Attorney Noelle Festa said prosecutors sought a sentence that fell within guidelines – in Rodney's case, a prison term ranging from a minimum of roughly 11 years to a maximum of 45.

Rodney's defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Nina Hayden, was pushing for Peters to send Rodney not to prison but to a juvenile facility. The Department of Juvenile Justice also supported such a sentence.

The judge apparently didn't agree with that option, either.

What Peters did agree to do was to sentence Rodney as a youthful offender, a move that meant the judge could not sentence the teen to any combination of prison time and probation that exceeded six years, Festa said. The four years of prison time, followed by the two years of probation, falls within that restriction.

Outside court, Hayden declined comment.

Festa said Rodney has outstanding charges against him stemming from the incident – fleeing and eluding, along with armed robbery – that are still in play.

The incident started in Tampa on Sept. 7, at roughly 10:15 p.m., Tampa police have said. A man was robbed of his wallet at 2601 W. Kennedy Blvd., then called 911. Less than ten minutes later, a Tampa police officer spotted the car the thieves used, a 2008 Chevrolet Impala, and tried to stop it near Lois Avenue and Interstate 275, Tampa police said.

The Impala, with three people in it, fled south on I-275, and someone tossed the stolen wallet and a short-barreled shotgun out the window, police said.

The Tampa police officer followed until the Impala got on Interstate 375 in St. Petersburg, then let a helicopter continue the pursuit, Tampa police have said. Soon after, the car crashed into two utility poles at Fourth Avenue North and First Street Northeast, Tampa police said.

Junior Rodney bolted but was caught a short distance away. The other person in the car, Andrew Chukes, who was Angela Rodney's boyfriend, also bolted, but was eventually apprehended in Orlando.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336.

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