The Indiana Supreme Court of Appeals handed down an opinion on Monday, Sept. 14 on an appeal filed by Alyssa Shepherd.
On Oct. 30, 2018, Shepherd failed to stop for a school bus that had stopped to pick up children on State Road 25 outside of Rochester. She struck six-year-old twin boys and their sister resulting in their deaths. A fourth victim sustained serious injuries in the incident.
Shepherd was found guilty of three Level 5 Felony counts of reckless homicide, a Class A Misdemeanor count of reckless driving and a Level 6 Felony count of criminal recklessness while armed with a deadly weapon. A jury determined her guilt on those charges after a four-day trial in Fulton County in October 2019.
Shepherd filed four issues with the Indiana Supreme Court of Appeals. She filed issues of whether the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that she acted recklessly, whether the trial court abused its discretion in rejecting her proposed final instruction, whether her convictions for reckless driving and criminal recklessness violate double jeopardy prohibitions, and whether the trial court erred by ordering her driver’s license to be suspended for consecutive periods.
The opinion of the Indiana Supreme Court of Appeals showed that the justices concluded that sufficient evidence supported the jury’s verdicts and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting Shepherd’s proposed instruction. Further, Shepherd’s Class A misdemeanor criminal recklessness conviction violated common law double jeopardy principles, and the Appellate judges decided to vacate that conviction. The Appellate Court also ordered a clarified sentencing order that indicates that Shepherd’s license suspension sentences should be served concurrently, or at the same time.
