On June 8, about a week after he completes classes at Holt High School, 17-year-old Brett Johnson, the drunk driver in a Jan. 30 crash that killed three of his teenage passengers, will learn his official fate.
Johnson admitted this week that he was inebriated when he got behind the wheel. That was a reckless decision that had tragic consequences.
Ingham County Circuit Court Paula Manderfield could send Johnson away for up to 15 years. But that would compound the tragedy. State guidelines set Johnson’s minimum sentence between 29 and 57 months. Manderfield could go lower, and those familiar with the case say she might.
On the other hand, the three college students who provided the alcohol to Johnson pled guilty to misdemeanors, and most likely will do no jail time at all.
