ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 21, 1996 TAG: 9603210035
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
note: lede
A 16-year-old Roanoke County boy convicted of driving drunk and killing his neighbor asked a juvenile court judge for freedom Wednesday, saying he will always carry the burden of his crime.
"The sin I've committed was not excusable," the teen-ager told Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Philip Trompeter in a hushed tone. "I'm not asking to be excused from the tragedy but to have a chance to be rehabilitated. ... I'll never escape punishment. This is something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life."
His attorney, Charles Phillips, asked that his client be allowed to remain with his parents and continue to receive counseling.
Trompeter instead took the recommendation of a juvenile probation officer and committed the teen-ager to the state's Department of Youth and Family Services.
The length of the teen-ager's sentence will be determined after he takes a series of psychological tests at a juvenile diagnostic center in Bon Air. According to state guidelines, he likely will remain incarcerated between two and four months, Phillips said.
Trompeter also revoked the teen's driver's license until he turns 21, ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service and required that he have no contact with his victim's family.
Trompeter explained that his sentence was more about hope for the future than punishment for the past.
"There are people ... who hope you writhe in hell," Trompeter told the teen-ager. "There is no punishment to satisfy that. Punishment is discipline, it requires structure, limits, love, nurturing. ... There is no rehabilitation without punishment."
The teen-ager grimaced when he heard the sentence, struggling to hold back tears. Sheriff's deputies then led him out of the Roanoke County courtroom.
The Roanoke Times agreed not to name the teen in return for being allowed into Wednesday's hearing. Juvenile court proceedings usually are closed to news media.
The teen-ager's sentencing culminated a case that authorities involved have called one of the grimmest in the history of the Roanoke County juvenile court system: an honor student, all-around athlete and peer counselor convicted of drunken driving and aggravated involuntary manslaughter of his neighbor, Bonnie Kitts.
"He is smart and intelligent," Roanoke County Commonwealth's Attorney Skip Burkart said. "He ought to have known better."
But the teen-ager has described himself as having a drinking problem, which he was adept at hiding from his parents. His drink of choice was vodka. And by the start of his junior year at Glenvar High School last year, the teen-ager said, he was drinking up to three times a week.
The teen-ager testified Wednesday that his girlfriend told him on several occasions to stop drinking and driving.
"I'd argue against it," he said. "I'd defend myself as most alcoholics do."
Just after 8 p.m. Dec. 14, the teen-ager ended a night of drinking by driving through his Woodbridge neighborhood, in west Roanoke County just across the Salem city limits.
Bonnie and Gary Kitts were out for their evening walk, rounding Queensmill Drive. As they neared the intersection of Kingsmill Drive, the teen-ager hit them. Bonnie Kitts, 45, died shortly after the accident.
The defendant "could have stopped," Kitts testified Wednesday. "We didn't have a chance. I don't go to sleep without thinking about this."
The teen-ager's blood-alcohol level was 0.21 percent - ten times the legal limit for minors.
On Wednesday, Gary Kitts left the Roanoke County Courthouse accompanied by his two sons.
"The loss of my wife and the boys' mother ... " Gary Kitts said, breaking into tears. "There are no winners here. We've all lost."
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB