Crime & Safety

Hit-and-Run Killer Gets 6 Months in Jail

As part of a plea bargain, Adam Garrett will spend 180 days in a private work-release facility and pay $14,000 in restitution.

A Huntington Beach man charged with the May 2011 hit-and-run death of a Fountain Valley man was sentenced to 180 days in jail Thursday after reaching a plea agreement with the court.

Adam Carl Garrett, 19, was charged with felony hit-and-run death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in connection with Hung Do's death. Garrett was accused of crashing into the back Hung Do's bicycle and throwing Do from the bike. Do landed in the far right lane of Warner Avenue, and was eventually taken to the hospital, where he died shortly thereafter.

Garrett was also accused of fleeing the scene without assisting Do or contacting police and paramedics, as well as later placing a call to 911 and falsely identiyfing himself as a witness to the accident.

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"Part of what made this such an egregious case is that you left the scene," Superior Court Judge John Adams told Garrett. "It's unfortunate that we see this more and more. You don't want to be the person going forward who leaves. You want to be the person who exercises his humanity."

According to a press release from the District Attorney's office, prosecutor Nancy Hayashida objected to the sentence "based on the nature of the crime and the lack of regard for human life displayed by the defendant."

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Garrett will spend his 180-day sentence in a private work-release center in Garden Grove, and will only be allowed out for scheduled classes, work shifts and religious services. He also received three years probation and 200 hours of community service, and will have to pay $14,000 in restitution to Do's mother, Dung Do. He faced a maximum of four years in state prison if convicted at trial.

"This has been a tragic crime," Adams said, again addressing Garrett directly. "It has had repercussions for the decedent's family, and it has certainly had repercussions for you. You have suffered a felony conviction, but I don't think anyone wants you to suffer for the rest of your life for a decision made in haste in the middle of the night."


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