Jeena Roberts released on parole after serving 11 years of 15-year sentence
A former college student who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2012 for a deadly drunken driving wreck then failed to report to prison after she was allowed to finish her degree has been released on parole, officials said.
Officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Jeena Roberts was released on parole on Feb. 24.
Roberts, who is from Houston, pleaded guilty on Nov. 26, 2012 to counts of intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault in exchange for 15 and eight year prison sentences that would run concurrently. She faced up to 20 years in prison.
Her charge stems from a Lubbock police investigation into an Oct. 22, 2010, wreck in the 400 block of Marsha Sharp Freeway, that killed Linda Smaltz, 52, and seriously injured Karen Wolf, 59.
The investigation indicated Roberts, who was 21 at the time, had a blood alcohol level of 0.25 percent - more than three times the legal threshold - when she drove her Chrysler 300 at about 80 to 90 mph before rear-ending the sport utility vehicle Smaltz and Wolf were in. The collision forced the SUV into a median, causing it to flip.
Police reports described Roberts as belligerent at the scene, but she admitted to driving the vehicle involved in the accident, according to court documents.
The case gained attention, partly because of the release of a video shot on a Lubbock police car's dashboard recorder, which showed her reaction to the news that someone had died in the wreck, and later cursing at a police officer and calling him stupid.
Released on bail, Roberts completed her studies at Texas Tech where she obtained a degree in petroleum engineering.
Roberts accepted a plea deal with the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office on the first day of her trial.
After entering her plea, Jim Bob Darnell, then judge of the 140th District Court, offered her time to participate in her commencement ceremony and spend the holidays with her family before reporting to jail to begin her sentence.
However, Roberts failed to report to jail Jan. 7, 2013, and was found by state troopers a few weeks later hiding out in a Houston hotel.
A Lubbock County jury found her guilty of bail jumping in October 2013. Darnell gave her a seven-year sentence to also run concurrently with her previous sentences.
According to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records, Roberts' projected release date was Jan. 5, 2028, but she would be eligible to request release on parole on July 6, 2020.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Jeena Roberts released parole serving 11 years of 15-year sentence
