Probation follows guilty plea in teen's lethal drinking

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Alexis Garcia

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GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

Timothy Parent appears in court with his lawyer in court in September 2007.

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Alexis ‘lexie' Garcia

NORTHAMPTON - The man accused of providing vodka that prosecutors say led to the death of a 15-year-old Easthampton girl changed his plea Wednesday to guilty.

Timothy Parent, 47, of 123 Strong St. in Easthampton, faced up to 20 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter, a precedent-setting charge in the state, in the death 16 months ago of Alexis E. Garcia, a friend of his daughter. He will instead be placed on probation for five years, according to an agreement reached in Hampshire Superior Court.

The punishment dismayed family members of Garcia, who said in court Wednesday they are not satisfied with the plea agreement.

Parent was also ordered to perform hundreds of hours of community service and pay nearly $1,000 in fines.

Garcia died Feb. 2, 2007, after asphyxiating in the bathtub at her Monska Drive home. Her blood alcohol content was measured at 0.33.

A February 2007 autopsy by the office of the chief medical examiner found that Garcia had suffered from "acute alcohol poisoning."

A police investigation determined that Parent bought a large bottle of vodka in January 2007 and allowed an underage daughter to consume some of it. In February, that daughter brought 20 ounces of the vodka to her friend's home, police concluded, where it proved lethal.

Shift on plea

The plea change, a result of negotiations between Parent's attorney, David Hoose, and the Northwestern District Attorney's office, "did not come without much thought," said Deputy First Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Dunphy Farris.

"I think it's a valid charge," she told Superior Court Judge Bertha Josephson. "But sentencing is different than charging."

Asked why he was appearing before the court to change his plea, Parent quietly replied, "Because I've done it."

Dunphy Farris said that a number of considerations led to the plea agreement. They include Parent's lack of a criminal record, his cooperation with a police investigation, his belief that the vodka he purchased would not leave his residence and "mental health limitations" on which she would not elaborate.

Hoose, who called the agreement "appropriate," said his client chose to plead guilty to the manslaughter charge, as well as two counts of procuring alcohol for minors, rather than challenge the legality of the precedent-setting charge because he was "devastated at the consequences of his behavior."

Parent waived his right to have his case reviewed by a grand jury in September after pleading innocent to the three charges.

Hoose said Parent's attitude at the time was "lock me up and throw away the key if it will make anyone feel better."

"Lots of kids in their teen years want to experiment with alcohol," he said. "And it's the parent's job to say 'no.' His weakness has had a devastating impact on him and on his family as well."

Family not satisfied

Garcia's aunt, Robin Fortier, and her mother, Renee Garcia, stood at the prosecutor's table while Fortier read a statement about her niece, whom she and all of her friends called "Lexie."

Other members of the Garcia family sat in a row behind the table.

"We thank the district attorney for her hard work, but our family is not satisfied with this plea agreement," Fortier said. "We had hoped for the loss of freedom for the defendant."

Fortier fought back tears as she described her niece.

"Lexie was vibrant," she said. "She was a loving, caring, beautiful and sweet child."

Fortier said that the family's visions of Garcia graduating, getting married and coming to visit family members with her own children are now gone.

"These moments now have no chance of becoming reality," she said. "She had so much more to do, see, feel, and she had a right to all of it."

After hearing statements from both sides, Josephson conceded that the loss of a child "can never be made right," but the judge accepted the agreement.

"There are legal issues that both sides have alluded to that would make a trial one in which the outcome is not preordained, certain, and not necessarily predictable," she said. "It would force everyone to go through a proceeding that may likely come to a worse end for the family than this plea provides."

Josephson ordered Parent to report to the probation department immediately, where he will be required to seek any mental health services deemed necessary.

Parent will be required to perform 350 hours of community service per year for the next five years and abstain from illegal drugs and alcohol. Any violations of his probation terms could result in a maximum 20-year sentence, Josephson said.

Matt Pilon can be reached at mpilon@gazettenet.com.