Document text
CLEAR Temp: 76 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Wednesday, June 4, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend May 23, 2003 Jury convicts driver in death Christopher Evans will spend more than six years in prison By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune A White City man will spend more than six years in prison after jurors found him guilty Thursday of killing his friend in a car crash. Jurors convicted 26-year-old Christopher Wayne Evans of second-degree manslaughter and driving under the influence of intoxicants. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Mejia ordered Evans to spend six years and three months in prison, the minimum sentence required by Oregon’s Measure 11. Several hours before Evans crashed a friend’s sports car, killing 23-year-old Jenny Ilene Lockhart, he downed shots of Jagermeister, a liqueur, and snorted a line of methamphetamine, witnesses said. Driving with Lockhart around 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 1, Evans careened through a stop sign at the intersection of Wilson and Table Rock roads near Central Point. The white Nissan 300ZX jumped about 30 feet through the air and slammed into an embankment. Paramedics pronounced Lockhart dead at the scene. Evans’ blood-alcohol level — taken about three hours after the crash — was .08 percent, Oregon’s legal limit. Forensic analysts testified that Evans’ blood-alcohol was likely between .2 and .098 percent at the time of the crash. Also, his urine tested positive for meth use. Advertisement Evans’ defense attorney, Lisa Greif, characterized Evans as a hard worker with aspirations to join the military. A social drinker, he used drugs only occasionally with a select group of friends, Evans said, denying that he had used meth the night of the crash. He admitted taking a few meth and cocaine pills — known as poppers — two days previously and said he didn’t feel at all impaired by alcohol when he got behind the wheel with Lockhart. Although injured himself, Evans’ only concern after the crash was for Lockhart, he said. He didn’t realize his friend was dead, not merely unconscious, as he yelled "Jenny, Jenny" while on a cell phone with 9-1-1 dispatchers. "Every night in my nightmares, I heard her screaming, ‘Chris, stop,’ " Evans said. Prosecutors argued that Evans’ remorse should not affect the jury’s decision, reached after 30 minutes of deliberation. Formerly employed as a bouncer at several Rogue Valley bars, Evans was well aware of the effects of drinking and driving, argued Tim Barnack, deputy district attorney for Jackson County. Evans testified that his job required him to determine when bar patrons were too intoxicated to drive. Barnack asked jurors to find that Evans was aware of but chose to ignore the substantial, unjustifiable risk of drinking and driving. "That car is a 2-ton bullet, and when it hit the (embankment), Jenny Lockhart lost her life," Barnack said in his closing argument. Evans said he wished he could trade places with Lockhart; he remained calm when Mejia read the jury’s verdict. Incarcerated since his arrest on Dec. 2, Evans was taken back to jail immediately after hearing his sentence. "I don’t really care how much time he does," said Jackie Taylor, Lockhart’s older sister, who attended the trial with her three other sisters. "I just wanted to prove to everybody that he was guilty, and he did know what he was doing." Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times