A judicial review reduced Tyler Jenicek’s two six-year prison terms to five years each, in connection with the 2020 death of Percilla Cheadle and a separate DUI case, News 9 reported. The station reported that Jenicek was driving 80 miles per hour through northwest Oklahoma City when he struck and killed Cheadle as she crossed the street, then continued driving. Cheadle’s daughter, Leeanna Pannell, says she will keep seeking accountability.
The reductions came after Jenicek’s attorney sought judicial review. In its account of the hearing, News 9 reported that the judge questioned the prosecutor and defense attorney about why the proposed reduction was so small, then granted the reduced terms. Pannell told the station the proceedings felt as though the outcome had already been decided.
According to News 9, documents cited in support of the reduction said Jenicek had behaved well in prison, completed addiction and educational classes, and begun attending church. Pannell said those factors did not change her view that the reduced sentence was unacceptable.
A History That Included More Trouble on Bond
The cases involved separate offenses and sentences. According to News 9, court records showed Jenicek was charged with DUI and eluding police while out on bond awaiting trial in Cheadle’s death. In that case, he was ordered to serve six years in prison on a 21-year suspended sentence. For the DUI and eluding charge, he received a separate six-year prison term out of a 10-year suspended sentence. The judicial review reduced each prison term by one year.
Pannell told the station she remains concerned that serving time will not prevent Jenicek from harming someone else after his release. She said the sentence reduction adds to the family’s difficulty in coping with her mother’s death.
A Four-Year Wait Already Left the Family Frustrated
The latest decision follows an already lengthy wait for the case to reach sentencing. When Judge Cindy Truong sentenced Jenicek in late 2024 to six years in prison, with 85% of the sentence reduced, followed by 15 years of probation, KFOR reported that Pannell’s family had waited four years for the case to reach a judge and felt the sentence was insufficient. KFOR also reported that Cheadle was killed in 2020 while walking from her apartment to a nearby store.
Statewide Pedestrian-Fatality Context
For broader context, statewide pedestrian fatalities in Oklahoma rose from 86 in 2020 to 104 in 2021, an increase of 20.9%, according to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office. Those figures are statewide totals and do not show how pedestrian fatalities in Oklahoma City specifically have changed.
Victim participation and city safety planning
Oklahoma Attorney General guidance says victims who request it are entitled to notice and to be present at proceedings involving criminal conduct, and to be heard in proceedings involving release, plea, sentencing, disposition, parole or an implicated victim right. The guidance describes options for victims seeking to participate when a sentence is considered. For city-level road-safety context, Oklahoma City’s Vision Zero Action Plan analyzes city roadways and recommends strategies intended to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries on the city’s most dangerous roads. The plan does not establish the cause of Cheadle’s crash.
Pannell has continued to challenge the outcome, saying the reduced terms do not reflect the loss her family has endured.
