Sentence-16 years.
Must Serve 85% of the sentence before eligible for parole.
The max sentence got changed today, it was not supposed to be 18. There was a charge that overlapped so those 2 years got taken off the max sentence.
So, technically he got the max.
We are relieved this is over.
We have waited 18 months for this day to come. Sentencing day. I am exhausted. This was an extremely emotional grueling day for all of us, including the drunk drivers family. The drunk driver finally spoke, I’m sure it will be on TV later. He said he was sorry and I’m sure he is. So are we. Too little, too late. I will link the news stories when I can. There were some amazing words spoken today by my sweet family. We all ended up speaking, even Deb and Derek. They thought they wouldn’t be able to. I’m so glad that they did. Gosh, Chandra’s letter almost made me start sobbing. It was so touching. Ian was like a little brother to both of us, especially since have both lost our own brothers.
Channel 6 news
NBC San Diego
Your Honor,
I am Katie Watson, Ian Kinney’s Sister-In-Law. I am married to Derek, Ian’s oldest brother. We have 2 daughters together, ages 8 and 10 and I have a son age 18.
Ian was 8 years old when Derek and I got married. He still had the little corner of his blankie that he slept with at night, he played Legos, did card tricks and idolized his older brothers. His favorite movie was Men In Black and his biggest crime was spray painting a dog blue. I don’t think I need to explain to you how important and special he was, I know that you have read the letters so you must already know.
Ian was the youngest one. The “little buddy” as my husband called him. Scott and Deb were a bit older when they had him and he was so anticipated, so cherished. There could not be two more loving parents then Debbie and Scott. I have learned so much about parenting from them.
Your honor, I know about death. I lost my younger brother, my only brother, ironically when he was only 19 also. However, he was not killed, he died of natural causes. As you can understand, my family was grief stricken, my parents divorced after 25 years of marriage and our family fell apart but we at least always had peace of heart knowing that he died peacefully. We were able to be comforted thinking that maybe, just maybe the Lord was calling him home. My brother’s body was now pain free, he could now run with the best of them and the likely upward hill that his life journey would have become, was now at the finish line. We felt that maybe it was just his time.
This is NOT what happened with Ian. It was not Ian’s time. He was violently, painfully and abruptly taken from this world. I don’t believe that it was Ian’s time to go. He had only just begun.
We think, “Oh gosh, if Ian had just been one minute faster or slower, he would still be alive”. But fate was not responsible for Ian’s death that day, Shannon Shimp was.
Or we think that he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” but he wasn’t. He was right where he was supposed to be. Loving life, a beautiful girl beside him, the California sun shining down on them, coming around that corner with his whole life ahead of him.
And then Shannon Shimp decided that he was just “that much more important then everyone else”,
That what he wanted to do “was just that much more important then the safety of those around him”.
That he was “that much more above the law” then the rest of us.
He decided that he could use meth, drive on a suspended license, not register his vehicle, nor pay for insurance. He decided that he could drive to a bar in the middle of a Tuesday, get smashed and then after being cut-off and warned “not to drive”, do it anyway. Then he broke many traffic laws and illegally crossed over double yellow lines, around blind curves, and aggressively passed not just one but three cars. He didn’t however make it around the 3rd blind curve or the 4th car.
Shannon Shimp had so many chances to stop this tragedy from happening. Ian had no chances.
Shannon Shimp should not have been there that day, he should not have been driving any vehicle anywhere. There was a reason that this man had his drivers license taken away, but apparently Shannon Shimp didn’t have to follow the same rules that the rest of us do.
He should not have been drinking and driving. I know he knew the risks and legality of that. I am sure that growing up with a firefighter for a father that he got plenty of safe driving lectures. I am sure that his father has seen his fair share of DUI fatalities and I know that Shannon’s father loves him and would have warned him about the dangers of driving under the influence. Shannon was 34, old enough to know better.
Shannon Shimp should not have been there driving on that road, he most certainly should not have been in Ian’s Westbound lane. That was Ian’s lane, Ian’s minute and Ian’s life. Shannon Shimp had no business taking that from him and from all of us.
Our family is so close knit. This has gotten us through the last 18 months but also it has made Ian’s absence more obvious. When we get together as a family, you can see and feel the sadness in Debbie and Scott. In all of us. Something is missing, Ian is gone.
Holidays now consist of a visit to the cemetery. Instead of figuring out what to buy a young man for Christmas, we have to decide between buying a little Christmas tree or a wreath to set on his gravestone. His room is still all full of his stuff, just normal teen boy stuff. Video games, CD’s, fuzzy dice. We keep it, because it is all we have left of him. His clothes still hang in his closet just like he left them. We see him everywhere yet, we will never lay eyes on him again.
Shannon Shimp is responsible for this. He acted with a “conscious disregard for human life”. He did not care for those around him. His vile language and lack of concern for the victims at the scene of the collision, show that he cares nothing for the people or world around him. He thinks only of his selfish ways and not even the law can stop him.
He is guilty of murder and in my opinion the State made it’s case for 2nd degree murder. Shannon Shimp got lucky twice. He walked away from that tragic collision alive and in one piece. Then he was found “not guilty” by the jury of 2nd degree murder for killing Ian and Mr. Edwards. He deserves the maximum prison sentence under the law for his crimes. His long steady history of breaking the law and his disregard for those around him have finally led to the ultimate sin, he killed 2 people and greatly injured a young girl.
Is there anything worse he could do? YES, there is. He could do it again. With his history, I think that he would.
Please keep him off the roads and keep another family safe and as unknowing of this pain and grief as possible.
Your honor, Please make this Count.
Thank You.
by Katie
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