LOWELL, Ark. – A Florida man convicted of killing a northwest Arkansas police leader in a inebriated using crash is predicted to be released from prison on Monday.
Jimmy John Christo Jr., 63, served roughly 10 years of a 12-year prison sentence on the Florida Department of Corrections for the May 2012 death of Lowell Police Chief Joe Landers.
“My biggest issue is that he left my dad laying in the middle of the road to die,” stated his son Caleb Landers referring to the deadly crash.
“Once law enforcement found him he (Christo) claimed he thought he hit a kid on a scooter,” Landers stated.
Joe Landers, who used to be the Lowell police leader for 15 years, used to be using a bike on the time of the crash.
Landers, the daddy to two sons and two stepchildren, used to be at a bike rally and used to be creating a flip with a gaggle of bikers when he used to be hit. Landers died per week later, in accordance to revealed experiences.
Christo used to be convicted of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and manslaughter, using underneath the affect, 3 misdemeanor counts of leaving the scene of a crash with belongings harm, ownership of marijuana, and ownership of paraphernalia, in accordance to revealed experiences.
Landers recalls using to Panama City Beach to attend Christo’s sentencing the place he gave a victim-witness have an effect on commentary.
In the court, Christo became to communicate to Landers. He expressed his emotions in a social media post.
“As soon as I … (saw) his face I lost it. I could feel the blood boil in my body. Standing in front of the judge trying to explain the impact was harder than I could have imagined. I rehearsed what I was going to say a thousand times but once I got in front of the judge I could barely speak.”
2016 Facebook Post
“He (Christo) did not have any previous DUIs on his driving record, but we received numerous letters from residents of the area who said he had been in and out of trouble his whole life,” Landers stated.
Christo had a blood alcohol stage nearly thrice over the criminal restrict, Landers stated.
“He should have never been allowed to drink that much and then drive,” Landers stated.
“I think that leaving someone to die should constitute murder and not manslaughter,” Landers stated.
“I also wish that bars that overserve their patrons could be held more accountable,” Landers stated. “We were told he had just left his job as a bartender at one of the local bars before hitting my dad.”
Landers stated regardless of the circle of relatives receiving information about a large number of incidents involving Christo he used to be “…unsure of how true any (of those statements) are.”
“My dad had a very giving spirit and willingness to help those in need,” Landers stated. “He was one of the least judgmental people I knew.”
“He did his job without bias and would always make sure we knew that people weren’t necessarily bad that they just made bad choices,” Landers stated.
Christo didn’t strive to succeed in out to the Landers circle of relatives, however Christo’s circle of relatives tried to make touch and despatched a condolence card. The Landers circle of relatives declined their discuss with.