‘The sentence he was given will never be enough’: Edmondson family reads statement during Daniel Riley’s sentencing
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ST. LOUIS, Missouri (KMOV) — Daniel Riley was sentenced Thursday afternoon after being convicted in a downtown St. Louis crash that severely injured teenager Janae Edmondson.
Last month, a jury found Riley guilty of four charges and recommended he be sentenced to prison for nearly 19 years. Prosecutors said he ran a red light and caused a crash, hitting Edmondson, who lost both of her legs.
Before Riley’s sentencing, Francine Edmondson, Janae’s mom, read a joint statement on behalf of the family.
“He sentenced Janae on the street that night to be an amputee for the rest of her life,” she said. “The sentence he was given will never be enough to repay for what she’s had taken from her and (from) our family,” she said.
The judge sentenced Riley to serve six years and three months for second-degree assault, 11 years and eight months for armed criminal action and 10 months for fourth-degree assault, a total of 18 years and nine months. Riley will serve the 10-month fourth-degree assault charge in the City Justice Center. The rest of his sentence will be served in prison.
The judge also ordered him to pay a $500 fine for driving without a license.
After the trial, Victoria, one of the jurors who found Riley guilty, told First Alert 4 that despite emotional testimony from the Edmondson family, they focused on the evidence during deliberations.
“We had empathy for the family, but at the end of the day, it’s what actions the defendant took that led up to that,” Victoria said.
She said that a key piece of evidence was that witnesses described Riley as going “full throttle” behind the wheel.
“Essentially black boxes in the two vehicles that record the five seconds previous to the crash and the two expert witnesses that testified for the prosecution really had solid evidence,” Victoria said.
The juror said the decision of Riley’s punishment was harder for them to decide on collectively, as emotion played a bigger role. She told First Alert 4 that some of the jurors wanted lighter sentences because of Riley’s age, whereas others wanted the maximum because of what happened to Janae.
Riley’s attorney filed papers earlier this month asking for a new trial. The judge has denied the motion for a new trial.
The Edmondson family has filed a civil lawsuit against St. Louis City. That trial is set for March 2025.
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