Sentence could go quickly for teen
BY BILL BRAUN World Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
8/28/08 at 5:57 AM
A Bristow teenager who
implicated a co-defendant
in two Tulsa store holdups,
one deadly, could be free
within two years.
A Bristow teenager who said she
drove a co-defendant from the scene
of two robberies -- one of which
proved fatal -- received a 10-year sentence Monday as a "youthful offender."
That disposition means Heather
Gale Sanders is destined to be released from custody within two years
if she complies with a treatment program to be prepared by the Office of
Juvenile Affairs.
"Given her intelligence, and her desire to make something positive out
of this very negative situation, it
seems very possible that rehabilitation
through the Youthful Offender Program at the institution will be successful," said an OJA background report that was filed Monday.
If Sanders maintains her youthful
offender status and follows her treatment plan, OJA officials must relinquish custody by her 20th birthday
on Dec. 5, 2005.
She pleaded guilty Nov. 24 to robbery and accessory counts.
In September Sanders, then 17, was
charged with Darrel Ray Miller on
two counts -- first-degree murder,
linked to the Aug. 6 slaying of Stanley Paul Silkey, an assistant manager
at a Git-n-Go store at 4826 E. 33rd
St., and robbery with a firearm, stemming from a July 30 holdup and
shooting at a Stop & Save store at
5950 S. 33rd West Ave.
In a plea agreement, the murder
count against Sanders was reduced to
an accessory allegation.
Sanders "has described her feelings
of shock about the outcome of her relationship with the co-defendant and
her sincere remorse for the injury to
one victim and the death of the other
victim," the OJA report said.
At a preliminary hearing for Miller,
Sanders testified for the prosecution
and said she drove him from
those scenes.
Sanders said Miller, 17, also
told her about two other robberies in which he shot employees.
Besides the Git-n-Go and Stop
& Save cases, Miller faces trial
for shootings during robberies in
June at the Corner Stop, 449 S.
Sheridan Road, and at the Priscilla's store at 11344 E. 11th St.
Sanders has been in the Tulsa
Jail since her Sept. 3 arrest.
Defense attorney Bruce Edge
said he expects that Sanders will
be sent to the Rader Diagnostic
& Treatment Center in Sand
Springs.
Tulsa County District Judge
Jesse Harris on Monday scheduled a Jan. 16 court review of
the rehabilitation plan for Sanders. If she fails to follow OJA requirements, she can be
"bridged" into an adult prison to
serve a 10-year term.
"As a youthful offender found
guilty of violent offenses, Heather Sanders will be placed in a juvenile institution, a secure setting where she will not have
access to the public until such
time as she is eligible for passes, just prior to her parole from
the institution," said an OJA report prepared for her sentencing.
Sanders, who dropped out of
school in the ninth grade, has
no previous record of involvement with law enforcement, the
report indicated.
Special Judge Millie Otey followed the recommendation of a
psychologist and ruled Nov. 20
that Sanders should be held accountable as a youthful offender.
Miller faces a possible death
penalty if he is convicted of first-degree murder in Silkey's death.
Bill Braun 581-8455
bill.braun@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Heather Gale
Sanders
She will be
released from
custody within two
years if she
complies with a
treatment program.
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