Lafond to complete jail time

LACONIA — A superior court judge has ruled that the driver who caused a crash that killed one teenage girl and seriously injured another will have to serve her full prison sentence.

Justice James D. O’Neill found that the 4½ years Amy Lafond, 57, has spent in confinement have not been enough punishment for causing the death of Lilyanna Johnson and seriously injuring Allyssa Miner.

Both girls were walking on a sidewalk near the Messer Street Bridge when they were struck by the vehicle Lafond was driving on April 19, 2013.

At a hearing Tuesday in Belknap Superior Court, Lafond’s attorney requested her sentence be reduced considering her exemplary behavior while in prison and because of her extensive participation in counseling, treatment and education programs.

In his one-page ruling issued Wednesday, O’Neill acknowledged Lafond’s efforts to rehabilitate herself, but concluded “suspension of the sentences, would not further the constitutional objectives of appropriate punishment and deterrence.”

In May 2014, Lafond pleaded guilty to felony charges of negligent homicide and second-degree assault. She received a 3½- to 7-year sentence on the negligent homicide charge and a consecutive 3- to 7-year sentence on the second-degree assault charge, with six months suspended. She also received credit for 254 days of pre-trial confinement.

At Monday’s hearing, Belknap County Attorney Andrew Livernois argued against the reduction in part because the terms of the negotiated sentence had the concurrence of the victims’ families.

“We are pleased that the judge agreed with us,” Livernois said Friday. “While it is commendable that (Lafond) has chosen to rehabilitate herself in prison, given the nature of the crime and devastating impact in this case, justice requires that she serve the full sentence.”