A Houston-area man who admitted to driving drunk in a 2018 crash that killed two teen girls will face an unusual punishment, including annual stints in jail on the anniversary of the deaths, according to prosecutors.
Jaggar Smith, now 22, was sentenced to 10 years probation, after pleading guilty to the fatal wreck that left 16-year-olds Chloe Robison and Salma Gomez dead, The Houston Chronicle reported. As part of his sentence handed down by Judge Josh Hill, Smith will have his driver's license suspended for a year, must serve 120 days in Harris County Jail spread over the next decade, and return to jail each year on July 25, the crash anniversary.
During the sentencing, which took place Monday, Smith's punishment was determined after testimony from the girls' mothers. Prosecutors had sought a 15-year prison term, arguing Smith's vehicle served as a deadly weapon. Instead, Judge Hill opted for probation, with the added conditions aimed at impressing the gravity of Smith’s actions," said attorney Steve Shellist, not directly involved with the case, "To force someone to go back to jail year after year is a punishment, and to have to do it on the anniversary of the death of the victims is to prove a point," ABC13 reported.
The fatal accident occurred on July 25, 2018, when Smith, then 17, crashed his vehicle into a tree while under the influence of alcohol and other substances, according to testimonies during the trial. Authorities said that on the night of the accident, Smith had consumed fortified wine before getting behind the wheel, Smith's lawyer, Chip Lewis, affirmed that his client wanted to take responsibility. Further to these events, a misdemeanor charge was brought against a clerk accused of selling Smith alcohol without checking ID but was ultimately acquitted in 2021.
Civil suits filed by the victims' families against Smith, his family, and those implicated in the alcohol sale were dismissed in 2019 following a confidential settlement. Smith's case, as described by Lewis, serves as a "cautionary tale for all the young people of Harris County. If this case saves one life, the tragic losses of life were not in vain," Lewis told The Houston Chronicle.
