Pascagoula
police officer will serve one year in jail in teen's death
By MARGARET BAKER
PASCAGOULA -- Pascagoula police
officer Daniel Snyder was sentenced Friday to six years in prison, with five
years suspended and one year to serve for leaving the scene of an accident that
left an Ocean Springs teen dead.
In addition, Circuit Judge Dale
Harkey ordered Snyder to pay $2,000 in fines, courts courts and burial expenses
to the family of 16-year-old Kaytlynn Brann, who died a a day after the Feb.
22, 2013, accident. He will also undergo an evaluation for alcohol abuse.
"I've seldom seen a more
tragic or more heartbreaking case," Harkey said. "Nothing but fate
brought you two together and it's ruined two lives."
Harkey expressed sympathy for
the victim's family and told Snyder that he, as a law enforcement officer,
should have known better than to drink and drive. He said nothing could explain
his decision to leave the scene other than him trying to hide the fact that he
had been drinking and driving.
"You were seeking to
minimize what you had done," Harkey said.
Prior to sentencing, District
Attorney Tony Lawrence asked for jail time for Snyder, noting he was veteran
law enforcement officer who knew better than to flee the scene of any accident.
"Everyone has to be held
accountable for the choices they make," Lawrence said. "He chose to
drink, he chose to drive and he chose to leave the scene."
Kaytlynn's father, Keith Brann,
said he never understood why Snyder wasn't arrested on a more serious
DUI-related offense.
"The one thing I wanted in
this case was for Mr. Snyder to never be a police officer again," he said.
"This conviction takes care of that. Since the accident, he has spent one
night in jail. One night. I have spent a year without my daughter."
A jury convicted Snyder in May
but he was released on bond pending sentencing in the case.
Snyder had consumed several
beers at his home in the hours leading up to the accident in which his pickup
truck struck Kaytlynn on Port Aux Chenes Road in Gulf Park Estates.
Snyder was off-duty and on
personal leave at the time to attend a family member's funeral.
A blood test taken at 11:45
p.m. showed Snyder had a blood-alcohol level of .06, State law prohibits
drivers from operating a motor vehicle if they have a blood-alcohol level of
.08 percent or above. Snyder was not arrested on a drunken driving offense in
the case.
Several witnesses said Snyder
stopped initially, but left the scene for up to 15 minutes before he returned.
Snyder was also heard saying he should have "done like everybody else in
Mississippi and just left the scene."
Other witnesses said Snyder
appeared to be in shock at the scene.
Snyder twice dialed 911 to
report that a person had been struck, but did not identify himself.
Snyder was not cited for
causing the accident. Instead, a deputy investigating the case said Brann was
at fault because she was walking in the road when the accident occurred. The
road has no sidewalks.
Snyder left the scene after the
accident and initially denied drinking alcohol prior to the crash to sheriff's
deputies. Deputies later found a Budlight beer cap in the console of his truck.
Several Pascagoula police
officers also spoke on Snyder's behalf Friday, noting he was good man who would
offer help to others and often went out of his way to help children in need.
