It's just a tragic case. Every time you have a child who passes away, everyone's a loser. And the judge said my client loved that child and she loved Demarcus.
Birthday balloons, flowers, and a pinwheel decorate the Greenwood Cemetery grave site of Demarcus Bryant, who died in March 2014 from an overdose caused by a 25-microgram fentanyl patch, on April 15 in Chattanooga. A jury convicted Bryant's caretaker, Jaqueline Escareno, 52, of criminally negligent homicide in Bryant's death.
Demarcus Bryant
Jaqueline Escareno listens during jury selection as her trial begins in the courtroom of Judge Don Poole on Tuesday, Apr. 5, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Escareno is charged with criminally negligent homicide in the 2014 drug-overdose death of toddler Demarcus Bryant, who had a prescription pain patch on his back. In a fairly crowded courtroom Monday in Hamilton County, the prosecutor approached the podium. Seated in the witness box was Sarah Bryant, in the same spot she occupied one month earlier during the homicide trial for the woman responsible in the death of her infant son.
"Tell us," prosecutor Leslie Longshore began, "tell the judge, tell the court, the impact of this event on your life."
Bryant did: "It's made me feel like I got cheated. I will never be able to experience nothing I'll never experience none of the sports, helping him turn into a man, the not liking his girlfriends, and I think about that every day, every day, no matter what I do."
Seated roughly 30 feet in front of her, Bryant's aunt and former best friend, Jaqueline Escareno, buried her face in her hands. Before the end of the hearing, she would be sentenced to four months in the Hamilton County penal system as part of a two-year probation sentence.
In April, a jury convicted Escareno of criminally negligent homicide after a four-day trial in the death of 23-month-old Demarcus Bryant. Prosecutors said Escareno, 52, was caring for Demarcus Bryant and his then-4-year-old sister on March 21, 2014, while his mother recovered from surgery. But after scurrying between hospitals to treat an infection, Demarcus couldn't settle down. So, Escareno applied one of her prescribed, 25-microgram fentanyl patches to the child's back around bedtime, prosecutors argued.
He never woke up.
On Monday, Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole weighed several factors after an emotional sentencing hearing that included testimony from Bryant, her father and Escareno.
"It was my first grandson, so you know, I was looking forward to it, to playing with him and taking him places, just doing things for him," said LaDonald Bryant, the child's grandfather. "That's not going to happen now."
Because Escareno was not a prior convicted felon, Poole said she faced a maximum two-year sentence charge. The criminally negligent homicide charge carries a one- to six-year sentencing range, according to state code.
Though prosecutor Longshore pushed for the maximum appropriate sentence, Poole ultimately considered attorney Lloyd Levitt's argument for alternative punishment, saying Escareno's two-year sentence would be suspended after she served four months in the Hamilton County penal system. After that, she will be placed on supervised probation.
Escareno has another 30 days to file a motion for a new trial, Poole added, and will remain out on bond until then. She must also take a drug and alcohol assessment.
"I sincerely hope this would bring some closure to the family," Poole said, motioning to Sarah Bryant and her father.
He then looked at Escareno. "I think everyone should know it that you loved that child."
As he did during trial, Levitt pointed out Escareno's devotion to the children. She used to wake up at 4:30 a.m., make Sarah Bryant coffee before one of her many double-shifts, and take care of her children. They never complained of any abuse or neglect, Levitt said.
Levitt also ventured into Escareno's past. A sixth-grade education. Pregnant at age 15. Addicted for years to heroin and cocaine. Juggling depression and bipolar disorder. Escareno pleaded guilty to one count of prostitution in 1989, records show. But aside from this negligent homicide conviction, Escareno had no criminal convictions since 1998. Plus, she had managed to steer clear of illegal drugs for 14 years, Levitt said.
He was satisfied with Poole's decision, but said he planned to file a motion for a new trial.
"It's just a tragic case," Levitt said. "Every time you have a child who passes away, everyone's a loser. And the judge said my client loved that child and she loved Demarcus."
Sarah Bryant, on the other hand, said she was shocked.
"I don't understand how you can go to jail for life for selling drugs but a few months for taking a little baby," she said. "My baby."
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow on Twitter @zackpeterson918.