CASE OF INTEREST

Date: March 3, 2004
Case: People v. Kenneth Bartholomew - 03F10498
Contact: Marv Stern, Supervising Deputy District Attorney, (916) 874-6612

District Attorney Jan Scully today announced that Kenneth Bartholomew was sentenced to 13-years and four months in state prison today by the Honorable Thomas Cecil in Department 61 of the Superior Court.

On the afternoon of December 2, 2003, Bartholomew was driving a Ford Explorer near Christian Brothers High School. While driving at an excessive speed, Bartholomew sideswiped another car and swerved up onto the sidewalk, where he hit two CBHS students, sisters Sharmelia and Ebony Jeffries. Bartholomew continued down the road without stopping, shearing off a power pole and ultimately coming to a stop down the road. He then tried to walk away from the crash, but a passerby detained him for the police.

17-year-old Sharmelia Jeffries succumbed from her injuries. Her sister Ebony was slightly injured. After his arrest, Bartholomew's blood was tested and revealed a .17 blood alcohol level, more then twice the legal limit in California.

Bartholomew pled guilty to every charge, including felony charges of vehicular manslaughter, drunk driving, and hit-and-run. He also pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving on a suspended license. Bartholomew had previously been convicted of three separate drunk driving charges in the 1980's, and his license had been revoked by DMV.

Supervising Deputy District Attorney Marv Stern stated that "this case is unbelievably tragic, and Sharmelia's family and Christian Brothers have suffered a terrible loss. Unfortunately, the legislature does not allow us to punish a defendant charged with vehicular manslaughter with more then 10-years, plus several years more for the other charges. The sentence imposed by Judge Cecil was very close to the maximum sentence that Bartholomew could receive, and the highest sentence ever given in this county to a defendant charged with vehicular manslaughter."

Back to Press Releases Index