Andria Heese Missouri Columbia ex cop pleads guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving after fatally running over Gabriella Curry 4 year old girl with police cruiser.
A former Missouri police officer has pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving after she was arrested for allegedly fatally striking a 4-year-old girl with her police cruiser over two years ago and had faced felony manslaughter charges.
Andria Heese, a former cop in the city of Columbia, was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter in the January 2019 death of Gabriella Curry at Battlefield High School.
Under a deal with prosecutors, Heese instead pleaded guilty to careless and imprudent driving — a misdemeanor charge.
Heese was trying to park on the sidewalk of the school to watch students board their buses when she struck the child, the Missouri State Highway Patrol stated.
The victim’s mother was one of the bus drivers.
No appetite for manslaughter charge
At that time of the ‘incident’, Heese had worked with the department for five years and was assigned to the community outreach unit. She was later placed on administrative leave.
Bill Tackett, former Cole County prosecutor said he believed the lessening of the charges was the appropriate move, saying he wasn’t convinced a jury would find Heese guilty of manslaughter abc17news reported.
According to court testimony, Curry’s family did not object to the plea deal.
Heese is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9.
The former prosecutor said while the sentence carries up to 180 days in jail, he doesn’t see Heese serving any time and would expect the officer to be placed on probation, KRCG reported.
Of note, Gabriella’s family reached a $3.4 million settlement with the city of Columbia in May 2019.
Heese’s sentencing is set for July 9.
