WOODLAND, Calif. — Calling the defendant a “danger to society,” a Superior Court judge sentenced a Washington man to 25 years, 8 months to life in state prison Wednesday for his role in a crash that killed his girlfriend as the couple fled from police.
But it’s not the end of the legal road for Thomas Phillip Leae, who is expected to be transferred back to Vancouver to face murder charges.
Leae, 23, hung his head and refused to answer questions as Judge David Reed denied his bid for a new trial and delivered his fate, which included a mandatory term of 15 years to life for second-degree murder.
Reed added another 10 years for Leae’s conviction for evading police and eight months for stealing the car that led the deadly pursuit on the night of Nov. 30, 2015.
Prosecutor Deanna Hays pursued the murder charge under the “implied malice” theory of the law, arguing that Leae, who led CHP officers on a high-speed, three-county chase on Interstate 5 in Northern California — driving into oncoming traffic with his headlights off before crashing into a tree in Dunnigan, Calif. — demonstrated a conscious disregard for human life.
Leae’s girlfriend, 18-year-old Ailiana Siufanua, died at the crash scene.
The couple was on the lam following a Nov. 25 robbery-homicide at a Vancouver precious metals shop, where authorities said Siufanua fatally shot employee Bentley Brookes in the face while Leae served as the getaway driver. Leae now faces murder charges in connection with that incident.
Despite Siufanua’s trouble with the law, her parents recalled happier times in a written statement to the court, read at Wednesday’s hearing by victim advocate Laura Valdes.
They described Siufanua as their “go-to person” for holidays and other family gatherings, “a shining light that brought everyone together.”
“They say time heals, but in this case we are certain that time will never ease our pain, nor forget what the defendant took away from us,” the Siufanuas wrote. “Like any tree, if you take away its roots, it will not survive. She was our strongest root with a huge heart that held our family together.”
At the same time, “we have no hate in our hearts, nor wish anything negative on the defendant. … We forgive the defendant as parents.”
Defense attorney John Sage argued at trial that Leae lacked the malice required to prove the murder charge, saying he was trying to aid Siufanua in her flight from police. He also suggested that Siufanua may have been directing his efforts during the dangerous pursuit.
But the jury didn’t buy it, and Reed said Wednesday that Leae’s “extended reckless driving” supported the panel’s verdicts.
