Woman sentenced to 7 years in vehicular homicide case

ALBANY — An Albany woman leaves a trail of death behind her as she begins a sentence for vehicular homicide.

Superior Court Judge Willie Lockette on Monday sentenced 51-year-old Cheri Ann Randle to serve seven years in prison and 13 years on probation for serious injury by vehicle and homicide by vehicle, according to court documents.

A hearing on restitution to the deceased 65-year-old Jeanette Ford’s family is scheduled for Friday, Dougherty District Attorney Greg Edwards said.

“She didn’t show any emotion in court,” Edwards said. “The family was pleased with the sentence, as are we. She will have to serve seven of 20 years.”

Randle killed Ford by running a red light at Slappey Boulevard and Oakridge Drive on May 15. In 1984, Randle received indictments on four counts of involuntary manslaughter. She pleaded guilty to four counts misdemeanor reckless conduct.

The original indictments state that Randle left her six children, 6-month-old Contessa, 2-year-old Dehaven, 3-year-old Bobby, 8-year-old Kimonia, 5-year-old Adrian and 9-year-old Aurello, alone.

Contessa, Dehaven, Bobby and Kimonia died in the fire that consumed the 128 Oak St. home while their mother was away.

“Knowing her unsupervised 3-year-old child, Bobby Randle, had a propensity for creating fire,” the indictment stated, “and that the means to create fire existed in the residence readily available to Bobby Randle, to wit a certain electric heater … and combustible material he might use, to wit: paper.”

In 1982 she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor manslaughter. The charge had been reduced from a grand jury murder indictment.

The indictment for murder read, Randle “did then and there unlawfully and with aforethought cause the death of Michael Collins, a human being, by cutting the throat of said deceased with a broken beer bottle.”