Posted on Tue, Oct. 18, 2011
The man who caused a 2008 car accident that killed Philadelphia Police Sgt. Timothy Simpson will spend 19 to 40 years in prison under a plea agreement reached Monday.
William Foster, 44, of Levittown, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and other charges in the case. He apologized to the Simpson family.
"If I could give my life up for that man's life, I would," Foster said. "He was a giver. I'm a taker."
He said he prayed for the Simpson family every night.
Assistant District Attorney Gail Fairman called Foster a career criminal whose actions repeatedly put others at risk. She cited his criminal record, which included 30 convictions over 25 years for crimes including eluding police officers, assault, and drug possession.
"He's no stranger to putting police officers and civilians in danger," Fairman said.
John McNesby, head of the local Fraternal Order of Police lodge, said lenient judges had kept Foster out of prison for his past crimes.
Fairman described how police saw Foster speeding in North Philadelphia and gave chase on Nov. 17, 2008. Foster ran through several red lights, eventually ramming Simpson's police car at Allegheny and Aramingo Avenues.
Simpson, 46, had been responding to a robbery call. He died of neck injuries that caused bleeding in his brain.
He was the fourth officer killed on duty in 2008.
Simpson's family - including his widow, Kathy; their three children; and a stepson - stared straight ahead during the morning hearing. About 20 police officers packed the benches.
Simpson's grandfather, father, and brother were all police officers.
"My brother loved his family and loved his job. He got killed doing his job," Terry Simpson, also a member of the Philadelphia force, said after the hearing.
During the hearing, officers read letters from Kathy Simpson and her daughter Courtney, 14.
"He was my strength and my knight in shining armor that I could always depend on," Kathy Simpson wrote.
Courtney Simpson said her father loved to play jokes and always put other people first.
"Some days I feel I just can't move on, but my friends always help me through," she wrote.
Foster's lawyer, Daniel Stevenson, argued that his client's crimes resulted for the most part from his drug addiction. Police found packets of heroin on Foster on the night he drove a stolen black Camaro into Simpson's police car. Foster was sober at the time, however, Fairman said.
The defense asked that Foster serve his sentence in the Simpson killing concurrently with a seven-year sentence for violating parole in Bucks County.
Fairman requested that the sentences be served consecutively. Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Minehart, calling Foster "a one-man crime wave," ruled that Foster serve the sentences consecutively.
Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey hailed the sentence.
"I think it was the appropriate outcome," Ramsey said. "This guy should never get out on the street again."
District Attorney Seth Williams said he also was satisfied.
"He will now have at least the next 26 years to think about his actions," Williams said.
Assistant District Attorney Gail Fairman discusses the sentencing of William Foster for the 2008 death of police officer Timothy Simpson at www.philly.com/foster
Contact staff writer Miriam Hill at 215-854-5520, hillmb@phillynews.com or @miriamhill on Twitter.
Â
No comments:
Post a Comment