A Vancouver man was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison after being convicted last week of striking a pedestrian with his vehicle and fleeing the scene. The sentence is beyond the standard range due to the seriousness of the victim’s injuries.
Treven Perry, 33, was found guilty by the Clark County Superior Court jury of a hit-and-run injury accident that occurred March 20 in Vancouver. The jury also found there was an aggravating factor — the victim’s injuries substantially exceeded the level of bodily harm necessary to satisfy the elements of the crime. The aggravator allows for a prison sentence of up to five years.
The victim, Ryan Moore, then 20, underwent surgery for multiple injuries. He suffered a head laceration, concussion, leg fractures and a broken pelvis, court records show.
His mother, who spoke during Tuesday’s hearing, said that her son spent time in the Intensive Care Unit. The force of the impact had knocked him out of his shoes, she said. He spent his 21st birthday in a wheelchair, she said, wearing multiple casts and a brace.
“Fortunately, Ryan survived and is healing,” she said. “I hope no parent has to see their child in this situation.”
At about 1 a.m., Clark County sheriff’s deputies arrived at Northeast 131st Street and 42nd Avenue to find Moore had been struck from behind. The driver, later identified as Perry, did not stop, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Moore’s younger brother, Trevor Moore, told deputies the vehicle was a dark green pickup or SUV. Deputies canvassed the area and found a 1995 Dodge Dakota pickup shortly after 8 a.m. parked in the driveway of a residence in the 4800 block of Northeast 128th Street. The front left corner of the pickup had fresh damage consistent with the crash, the affidavit states.
Perry told detectives that he dropped something in his vehicle and when he reached down to grab it, he swerved and struck a pole. He slowed down afterward and looked back, he said, to make sure he hadn’t hit a person. Perry then drove away and went home to sleep. He said he planned to report the crash later, according to court documents.
Perry maintained throughout his trial that he thought he struck a pole.
On Tuesday, Deputy Prosecutor Katie Sinclair argued that if his brother hadn’t been with him, Ryan Moore’s injuries could have been fatal. She asked that Judge David Gregerson sentence Perry to four years in prison, based on Moore’s injuries and the lack of remorse shown by Perry.
His defense attorney, David Kurtz, told the judge that a vehicular homicide trial was happening at the same time as Perry’s trial, and that defendant was found guilty. He said he can’t fathom how his client is facing more prison time than the person who killed someone.
Kurtz argued the problem is that the state Legislature has taken the power away from judges to punish people and has given the discretion to prosecutors. The prosecution has too many aggravating circumstances at its disposal, he said.
“It’s one thing to be sentenced; it’s another to be sentenced disproportionately,” Kurtz said. He asked that Perry be sentenced to one year and a day in prison.
Perry told Moore’s parents that although he has a difficult time expressing emotion, he is upset about what happened.
Gregerson took a five-minute recess before handing down his sentence.
He said that although Kurtz’s point is well-taken, there is no excuse for Perry’s unwillingness to stop. It’s hard to imagine, Gregerson said, that Perry didn’t realize he hit a person. He sentenced Perry to 36 months — the same sentence offered to him in a plea deal before trial. Perry was given credit for 10 days in jail. Restitution will be set at a later date.
