Friday, September 23rd 2011. It’s a night of drinking and poor decisions a Minnesota man will be have to think about for 10 years. Circuit Judge Jon Erickson sentenced James Harris Tuesday for second degree manslaughter and drunk driving, for killing 16-year-old Zachary Eichstadt with his pick up truck. Harris’ lawyer Jeff Burns says Harris was a relatively healthy 28-year-old who while incarcerated for the last six months now takes sleeping pills and anti-depressants to cope with what happened…
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Kingsbury County States Attorney Gregg Gass told Erickson that Harris knew what was happening around him and did not black out as Harris claimed…
Erickson gave Harris the opportunity to address the court and the Eichstadt family in attendance…
[audio:http://prprt.itmwpb.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/688/2012/04/harris3.mp3|titles=harris3]Erickson gave Harris credit for time served on the D-U-I portion of the sentence…
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Harris was also ordered to pay 78-hundred 65 dollars in restitution. He has lost the use of his drivers license for 10 years following his release and will be eligible for parole after serving approximately half of his sentence.
You can hear the entire sentencing hearing here:
[audio:http://prprt.itmwpb.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/688/2012/04/James-Harris-Sentencing-4-3-12.mp3|titles=James Harris Sentencing 4-3-12]A photo gallery of the sentencing can be seen on the Performance Radio News page on Facebook.