WHITERIVER WOMAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER AND ASSAULT RESULTING IN SERIOUS BODILY INJURY

PHOENIX – On April 2, 2012, Adrienne Lee Shipp, 19, of Whiteriver, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Martone to 108 months imprisonment, to be followed by three years supervised release. Shipp was found guilty by a federal jury on Jan. 12, 2012, of Involuntary Manslaughter and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury following a trial that took place on Jan. 10-12, 2012. Judge Martone issued consecutive sentences: 60 months imprisonment for Involuntary Manslaughter, to be followed by 48 months imprisonment for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, totaling 108 months imprisonment.

Evidence presented at trial showed that, on May 5, 2011, Shipp drove through a residential neighborhood just after school let out in the middle of the afternoon, after she had consumed a pint of vodka. At that time, Shipp drove her truck up onto a sidewalk and ran over two little girls who were coloring under a shade tree. After hitting the girls, she ran over 30 to 50 feet of fence and attempted to flee the scene, as neighbors tried to stop her. Shipp’s truck eventually stalled over 200 yards away. Shipp did not have a driver’s license and had a BAC in excess of .19. The little girls Shipp ran over were cousins. The five-year-old victim died as a result of her injuries. The four-year-old victim miraculously survived, but sustained life threatening injuries.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the White Mountain Apache Tribal Police. The prosecution is being handled by Dimitra Sampson and Alison Bachus, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER:           CR- 11-8119-PCT-FJM  
RELEASE NUMBER:   2012-084(Shipp)

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/