MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man who ran over a woman in downtown Hopkins while making a pizza delivery has been spared jail time.
The Star Tribune reports that Cole Leon Venables, 28, of Minnetonka, was sentenced in Hennepin County District Court on Thursday to one year in the workhouse after pleading guilty to felony driving homicide in connection with the death of Olivia DeMeuse on April 16.
DeMeuse, 26, of Hopkins, was hit by a car Venables was driving as she walked on a sidewalk. Two witnesses told police they saw Venables swerve and hit a lamppost before hitting DeMeuse. Venables told officers he fell asleep at the wheel.
Judge William Koch overturned a 4 3⁄4 year sentence, which would have required Venables to serve two-thirds of that time in prison. He will be on probation for five years, and Koch has also ordered him to continue treatment for mental health and chemical dependency.
With credit for time served since the accident, Venables has about five months of work remaining.
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Venables’ Minnesota criminal history includes convictions for drunk driving, possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving with alcohol open in the vehicle.
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