Talia R. Date, left, faces a judge in Lewis County District Court today.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – One of the young women accused of buying booze for a teenage party in Adna that ended when a 16-year-old boy was run over and killed pleaded guilty today to multiple counts of furnishing liquor to minors and reckless endangerment.
Tyler S. Gonzalez, a sophomore at W.F. West High School in Chehalis, was drunk and laying on the roadway when he was hit by a full-sized SUV near the gathering on Brockway Road last May.
Talia R. Date was in Lewis County District Court in Chehalis this afternoon.
She and Megan M. Day, both 22 years old and from Chehalis, were charged in September.
The hearing was brief, with Judge Michael Roewe confirming Date was making her pleas based on an agreement in which the prosecutor dropped two of the 13 charges and would recommend 30 days in jail.
Roewe reminded her he didn’t have to follow the attorneys’ proposal and that each offense was punishable by up to 364 days in jail.
Date’s sentencing will occur in a few weeks.
“She accepted responsibility and took a direct plea on it,” her attorney Wayne Fricke said outside the courtroom.
Fricke said he will be asking the judge to allow his client to serve her time at home, with electronic monitoring. Deputy Prosecutor Brian Gerhart said he wouldn’t oppose it.
Neither of the women has a criminal record, according to Gerhart. They were charged identically and the same plea offer was made to each of them, Gerhart said.
Neither was charged with furnishing liquor to Gonzalez; they didn’t know he was going to be at the party, he said. They were however charged with reckless endangerment involving him.
Reckless endangerment is a gross misdemeanor in which one “recklessly engaged in conduct that created a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person.”
Charging documents state that Day is the older sister of one of the 16-year-old boys present, and he had called her and asked her to buy alcohol.
When Gonzalez and another young person arrived around midnight, the rest had already been drinking beer, whiskey and vodka, according to the charging documents.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office concluded Gonzalez wandered away and either laid down, passed out or went to sleep on the roadway before he was killed.
Day was sentenced last week to 20 days. Roewe ordered her to report to the Lewis County Jail by Feb. 23, and said that her time would have to be served in the jail, not with any kind of alternative sanction.
Day had pleaded guilty to four counts of furnishing liquor to a minor, but on the seven reckless endangerment charges stated in writing she was only pleading guilty to take advantage of the state’s offer.
Roewe also ordered Day to complete drug and alcohol information school within two months, and suspended the rest of her sentence provided she not have any other convictions for two years.
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For background, read “Chehalis women charged with 13 counts in connection with deadly underage drinking party” from Wednesday September 19, 2012, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
The girls need to be held accountable, I know they are young, but if it was your son who died you would want justice for your child. I know that Tyler was in the wrong for drinking, and at the ages all of the parties involved they are all impressionable. No one should have been drinking. Shouldn’t the home owner be responsible for this too? there were how many people there? As a parent of teenagers I understand children can make “bad” decisions, but as a parent if it was my child injured or killed by a situation like this I would want everyone involved held accountable. It is so important as parents to know who our children are with and what they are doing, granted we can’t be with them 24/7 but it is our job as parents to educate our children on the dangers and the severity of under age drinking is. The young ladies should be ashamed of themselves for supplying alcohol to the kids. This tragedy could have been prevented. Tyler is definitely missed.
Really NWA, listen to the Centralia Police claim they lost their video recordings. I have proof, what do you have? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4pY9ersS_c yeah that’s right I must be guilty because you say so. Wake up and smell the corruption
Everyone here needs to go to DCE trial thats coming up and support him. After all he has done no wrong in his life. Trial date can be provided by the Lewis County Superior court.
Enforcer It is time the people take charge of the court system. People can start working together and follow some of thees cases and you will be upset, this happens to often.
How are people going to take charge of the Court System when we cannot even get the Fluoride out of the Publics Water Supply? People in this community have done nothing, except be pushed around by the system. The Real DCE
The boy who got killed is responsible for his own actions. Sad, but true. The life of these girls shouldn’t be taken away from them from one stupid mistake. This boy was old enough to throw back some drinks — old enough to make his own decisions and old enough to know what’s right and wrong. These girls didn’t force him to drink anything.
Say she provided them with ecstacy/ acid/ meth/cocaine/ herion instead of alcohol and come to your own conclusion. What is a girl her age doing around little boys anyway? Im pretty sure this isnt the first time she provided alcohol to minors. shame shame shame. Drinking age is 21.
Lewis County judges aren’t known for “lax” sentences either.
Really dont blame these girls? You are being to hard on them? They bought the booze that lead up to this child’s death!!! What about the case with Mr. Taylor? He didnt even buy the booze the kid brought the booze with him!! Mr. Taylor got his name ran through the dirt because he was a sleep in his home! Mr. Taylor did almost a year in jail for nothing! These girls are going to 30 days?
Keep in mind that punishing these women more is not the answer. Yes they bought the alchohol…NO they weren’t planning on anyone dying from its use. Don’t be so narrow minded. When drunks die in an auto accident , the car manufacturer and beer companies don’t get held liable. As long as these women know that they will live with this crime, and serve a little humility at home I am OK with that.
You guys are being too hard on these girls. They are young, they made a stupid mistake (like many of you did and still do) that indirectly led to the death of the boy (I would blame the people who’s house the party was at who kicked him out when he was obviously too intoxicated to take care of himself and all his friends had left to get food).
These girls are probably scared to death and the most stressed out they have ever been, which is good for them, maybe it will teach them not to make stupid decisions like this in the future but they do not deserve a year in jail for what they did.
I don’t disagree with you that the sentence in this case is stupid… but I will disagree with the comment that keeps showing up on this forum of “… if this had happened anywhere else, they would get real jail time.”
Google “ridiculous court sentences” sometime and see the number of cases – all over the country – that don’t make sense. It’s not a “lewis county thing” – it’s a judicial system problem.
Wow, you take an action, buying booze, that pretty much directly leads to the death of a young man and you get 30 days, served at home. What a great way to tell people your actions have consequences. I thought things were supposed to get better once Meyer replaced Golden? Judges don’t have to go along with this nonsense, they don’t have to allow the plea bargain and they don’t have to go along with slap on the wrist sentences. But then, the people of Lewis County are not known for great choices of judges.
This is amazing why did ‘nt the judge and the prosecutor give her $500.00 for her services. This is not a minor crime if this happened any where else they would get some real jail time. This is why we have so much crime in Lewis County, If the courts are afraid to prosecute a case it is time we get some people in there that will do the job It is time the people take charge of the court system. People can start working together and follow some of thees cases and you will be upset, this happens to often. The courts do not think a crime has been committed they just want to put in their time and it is done. Wake up people lets get something done this is a travesty of justice.Start by helping Law Enforcement they are making the arrests but that is as far a it goes. In Winlock area Law Enforcement made a arrest of a drug dealer with almost one pound of Meth and he is out on the streets now and has not been to court just moved to a different area. I know he must be out on bail but we do not need him on the streets but Lewis County Courts don’t see it that way.
I can’t help but wonder why no one’s parents have any responsibility in this ?