A Springfield man who was convicted of driving drunk and causing two people to be killed will go to the prison for at least the better part of a decade.
23-year-old Devon Spencer was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to Aggravated Driving Under the Influence. He was behind the wheel last July when he crashed into a tree, killing 28-year-old William Jones, Junior, and 25-year-old Roderick Pickett.
“No amount of time can bring back these two individuals that were killed by the defendant,” says John Milhiser, Sangamon Co. State’s Attorney. “They were passengers in his vehicle.”
Milhiser says it’s not the first fatal DUI where a sentenced was imposed this year, so stemming the tide of fatal DUI’s is important.
“I think education is very important,” says Milhiser, “and, everybody doing their part when they’re out. At a bar, and you have a friend who has had too much to drink, don’t let them drive. Take the keys from them. Utilize designated drivers, or Uber, or a bus, or taxis.”
Milhiser says the other thing…utilize the criminal statute, and he says he will, and will keep — in his words — “aggressively prosecuting” drunk drivers.
Spencer must serve 85 percent of his sentence under state law before he can be considered for release. Spencer was just released from prison in 2014 and has other DUI convictions on his record.
