On Monday, Kentia Fearn, 24, from Wayne, entered a no contest plea to charges related to an incident in Southfield where her friend suffered fatal injuries after falling from a vehicle, a case that has evoked questions of responsibility and the harrowing instant when a life hangs in the balance. According to a statement obtained by The Detroit News, Fearn faced counts of failing to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily impairment or death, a felony that could see her imprisoned for up to five years.
The tragic event transpired on June 3, 2023, when 23-year-old Mia Kanu, identified as Fearn's friend and a Tennessee State University veterinary student, fell from Fearn's car on Providence Drive after leaving a party, suffering severe head trauma from which she later succumbed, Fearn who was arrested and charged months after the incident, pleaded no contest as the case was heading to trial which could have unfolded the detailed circumstances leading up to the tragic outcome, now obscured by the silent plea. The incident was initially disclosed by Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren last year, who, according to FOX 2 Detroit, revealed that Fearn continued driving after Kanu fell from her car; Kanu was later found and transported to a hospital, where she died a few days later.
Despite the absence of an explicit admission of guilt, Fearn's no contest plea is set to be treated as such for sentencing purposes while also potentially offering her a shield against further civil liabilities. Sentencing before Oakland County Circuit Court Judge David M. Cohen is set for Dec. 13, as informed by both The Detroit News and The Oakland Press. The latter publication detailed that Fearn made the plea just a day before her scheduled trial, opting out of a judicial scrutiny that could have brought forth more insights into the incident that occurred outside the Coach House Apartments near Greenfield Road and Mt. Vernon Street in Southfield.
Fearn was initially represented by attorney Alex Green, but Green no longer acts as Fearn's legal counsel, attempts to reach her new attorney were not immediately successful, with the change in representation coming at a critical juncture in the case. Reflecting the severity of the charges, Fearn, cited by The Oakland Press, is presently released on a $3,000 personal bond, which entailed no cash or surety being posted; she remains out of jail but confronts the possibility of a five-year prison term at her upcoming December sentencing.
