Fresno judge to reconsider reducing Clovis woman’s felony DUI charges to misdemeanors
A Fresno County judge is reconsidering his decision to reduce a Clovis woman’s two felony DUI charges to misdemeanors after hearing from the family injured by the alleged drunk driver.
“I make a 100 decisions a week, including bail, sentencing, ruling on motions, and sometimes I get it wrong, although most of the time I get it right,” said Judge James Kelley on Monday. “I don’t believe I knew all the facts when I made that decision.”
Kelley said he is “inclined to withdraw the motion” he agreed to last week, which would have reduced the charges filed against Melissa Ann Alexander, 40. He said her lack of criminal history and no previous DUI convictions, made a difference.
Kelley also took note that Alexander accepted responsibility for the crash by pleading guilty to charges of driving drunk, blowing through a stop sign and crashing into a family of three at the intersection of Ashlan and Greenwood avenues on Nov. 25, 2018.
Alexander’s lawyer Michael Aed argued last week that she didn’t deserve to have a felony conviction on her record. Kelley generally agreed and reduced the two felonies to misdemeanors. Those charges included DUI with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or more causing injury, plus DUI while causing injury.
Prosecutor Steve Ueltzen objected to the judge reducing those charges and urged him to hear from the victims before issuing his sentence. He also filed a motion asking Judge Kelley to reconsider his earlier ruling.
On Monday the victims of the DUI crash, Sarah Shelton of Fresno and her 12-year-old son Nathan, appeared in court to talk about the physical and emotional pain the accident has caused them.
Shelton, a teacher, suffered a broken wrist, broken ribs, and a fractured pelvis. She spent two and half weeks recovering in the hospital and about six weeks in a wheelchair once she was able to come home.
“I was in a significant pain and unable to see my kids,” she said. “I saw Nathan maybe one time as he was being wheeled into the hospital.”
She said her broken ribs made it painful to laugh or lay down. She couldn’t put weight on her right leg because of her shattered pelvis. She had to learn how to shower in a wheel chair. When she was finally able to come home, she couldn’t get to her bedroom upstairs. She converted her downstairs office into a bedroom complete with hospital bed.
“My mom had to take off work in Bakersfield to care for me and my kids,” said Shelton as she began to cry. “This was for six weeks. And I couldn’t work during any of it.”
Nathan Shelton suffered a broken clavicle and punctured lung. His younger sister had lacerations and bruising on her face.
Although Nathan Shelton still has pain in his stomach, he worries more about his mother than himself.
“It makes me sad when my mom is in pain,” he said, trying to fight back tears .”I don’t want anyone in my family to get into a car accident because I know how it feels and it is not a good experience.”
Kelley thanked the family for coming to court and sharing their stories. He said he got a better picture of the entire situation. And he is leaning toward changing his mind about his earlier ruling.
Kelley will issue his decision on Sept. 16.
“This is not something I do lightly, and I don’t like doing it,” he said. “But it is something you have to do to get the right result.”
This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 5:20 PM.
