MONTCALM COUNTY, Michigan — The woman charged with striking three teenage boys and killing one of them with her car and then leaving the scene in August was sentenced in Montcalm County Tuesday.
Brandy Sue Jones, 40, was sentenced to 12 to 30 years without credit for time served, and on counts two and three, she was sentenced to 57 months to 10 years.
Jones was charged with:
- Failure to stop at scene-when at fault-resulting in death (15-year felony)
- Accident-Failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in impairment/death (5-year felony)
- Accident-Failure to stop at scene of an accident resulting in impairment/death (5-year felony)
Her sentences will be served concurrently.
Jones was charged with hitting and killing 14-year-old Jamison Lafferty with her car back in August on Wise Road near West County Line Road in Eureka Township.
Family, friends and loved ones of Lafferty spoke during Jones' sentencing. Lafferty had celebrated his 14th birthday four days before the crash and was set to start his eighth-grade year at Greenville Middle School in the Fall.
Lafferty's parents, Justin and Alee, spoke during the sentencing.
“I’ll never get to see him get his driver's license. I’ll never get to see him go to prom. I’ll never see him walk across the stage," said his mother Alee Lafferty.
“It has been 112 days since my son has been taken from earth and not a day goes by I wish I would wake from this nightmare," Lafferty's father Justin told the court.
"Jamison Allen Lafferty is and was blessed with a school that loved him including the football, track and basketball team that will forever honor the number fifteen," said Tom Lafferty, Jamison's grandfather read ahead of the sentencing.
Family and friends stood in the courtroom while the grandfather addressed the court.
"Jamison Allen Lafferty is and was blessed with seventeen truckloads of flowers at his memorial service."
Jones was also charged with injuring two other teenagers with her car before fleeing the scene. One of the boys suffered a broken pelvis, while the other suffered two broken ankles from the crash.
During Tuesday's sentencing, Jones appeared to be crying the whole time with her head down. The courtroom was full of family and friends of the three boys hit. Many of them were wearing shirts and sweatshirts and crying.
Wendy Gladding, Jamison's grandmother, said the boys were leaving from visiting their childhood babysitter when they were hit. Gladding said they were hit from behind and that Jones drove through three yards before hitting them.
Authorities tracked down the vehicle involved in the crash and found Jones. She was interviewed by detectives and they said she admitted she was the driver in the crash.
“It may just be Jamison sacrificed his life to save hers,” Lafferty said.
Lafferty asked the judge not to give Jones any credit for time served or an early dismissal due to good behavior and no chance for an appeal.
"We have no hopes of beating the system. The system will never defeat the defendant, the system has already beaten everyone back here," Lafferty said, pointing to the crowded courtroom with loved ones of the victims.
“Our saving grace is knowing we will see our Jamison again one day," Wendy Gladding said.
“Ms. Jones, I forgive you and I know Jamison would, too," Alee said. Lafferty's father also said he forgave Jones and said Jamison would, too.
Jones was given the opportunity to address the court before learning her sentence.
She said she wishes she could trade places with Jamison. She also said she knows the feeling of loss, especially the loss of a child. Jones said she lost her own child to a drug overdose and it haunts her every day.
She said she doesn’t expect the family to forgive her because she doesn’t know if she was in their shoes if she could forgive.
Police say that she told investigators she knew she had hit something that night, but didn't know what she hit. She said she realized the next day when she saw news reports of the crash.
Prosecutors claimed that Jones hid evidence, was on parole at the time of the crash and later tested positive for meth.
Jones was convicted of a meth charge back in 2020 and has been on parole since March 2023.
Jones also has previous convictions of driving without a license, as well as past civil infractions of driving without proof of insurance and not having a registration, according to online court records.