Man gets 5 years after girlfriend’s death

BELLEFONTE â€" A Pleasant Gap man who was involved in a high-speed car accident that killed his girlfriend in 2010 was sentenced to five to 10 years in state prison on charges related to that and two other, separate cases.

Judge Bradley P. Lunsford said he hoped to send a message with the sentence he handed out Monday to Shawn Meter, 22, who in October pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while DUI, a felony. Meter’s girlfriend, Julie Webster, 25, was killed on July 25, 2010, when a car driven by Meter, in which she was a passenger, went off the road while speeding.

“I hope you take these years to think about your actions,” Lunsford told Meter.

Meter received a three-to six-year sentence in state prison on the charge of vehicular homicide; 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for a related DUI while driving under a suspended license charge; an additional two to four years on a charge of distribution of marijuana stemming from a 2010 arrest; and two days to six months in jail on a 2009 DUI charge. Each of the sentences will run consecutively.

He also was ordered to pay about $35,000 in restitution, and given credit for 195 days he’s already served in the county jail.

Webster’s parents and two sisters spoke at the sentencing, directing their anger and sadness at Meter as other family members and friends shed tears in the audience.

“There’s not enough jail time that could ever repair what’s been done,” sister Jennifer Webster told the court.

In a long speech, Meter apologized to the Webster family and called Webster’s death “a complete accident.”

“I will never forget the dumb choices I made that night,” he said. “Alcohol has ruined my life.”

Meter called Webster the “love of my life,” but Lunsford questioned his authenticity.

“You do not treat the love of your life the way you (treated) Julie that night,” Lunsford said.

After the sentencing, Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller said she was not happy with the sentence, or with the state law that prevents harsher sentences for the crime of homicide by vehicle while DUI.

“I’m never satisfied with sentences in these kind of cases, the time never feels sufficient,” she said. “But when we view the case in light of what Pennsylvania law allows us to seek, we were satisfied. When you lose a young, vibrant life like that family lost in this particular case, we can say we hope we provided them with closure. But we never feel fully satisfied.”

Outside the courthouse, the Websters said they would put more of their time into Justice for Julie, a group they formed to raise awareness of the pain drunken driving has brought to their family.

Cliff White can be reached at 235-3928.