A Tarrant County jury recently sentenced DeAujalae Evans, 26, to life in prison after she pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter in the death of Fort Worth Police Sgt. Billy Randolph. Sergeant Randolph was working a crash scene on I-35W in August 2024 when Evans (who reportedly consumed approximately 10 shots of tequila that night) struck and killed him. Her blood alcohol concentration was measured at 0.12% hours after the crash. She fled the scene on foot. She will be eligible for parole after serving 30 years.
This case raises a question I hear frequently after a high-profile DWI fatality: can you actually get life in prison for a DWI? The answer is yes, but only under specific statutory circumstances. Understanding when and how Texas law reaches that punishment range is important for anyone trying to understand how these cases actually work.
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The Base Charge: Intoxication Manslaughter
Texas Penal Code §49.08 defines intoxication manslaughter as operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated and causing the death of another person by reason of that intoxication. In its base form, it is a second-degree felony carrying 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
A 20-year maximum is serious. But it is not life. For the sentence Evans received, a different statutory provision had to apply.
The Enhancement: §49.09(b) and the Peace Officer Victim
Texas Penal Code §49.09(b) provides that intoxication manslaughter is elevated to a first-degree felony when the victim was:
A peace officer (including a law enforcement officer, corrections officer, or jailer) who was acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty, and the defendant knew or should have known the victim was a peace officer.
A firefighter acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty, with the same knowledge requirement.
Emergency medical services personnel acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty, with the same knowledge requirement.
A first-degree felony in Texas carries 5 to 99 years or life in prison, and a fine up to $10,000. That is the punishment range that made a life sentence legally available to the Tarrant County jury in the Evans case. Sergeant Randolph was a Fort Worth police officer working a crash scene on a major interstate in full uniform, with emergency lighting present. The jury had no difficulty concluding that Evans knew or should have known he was a peace officer acting in the discharge of his duties.
Why the Knowledge Requirement Matters
The “knew or should have known” standard in §49.09(b) is a mens rea element that the prosecution must prove. It is not automatic. A fatality involving a peace officer does not automatically trigger the first-degree enhancement. The state must establish that the defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of the victim’s status.
In practice, this knowledge requirement is easily satisfied when the victim was working an active crash or traffic scene with emergency lighting, wearing a uniform or reflective gear, or otherwise visibly identifiable as law enforcement. It becomes a more contested question in circumstances where the officer’s status was not visually apparent at the time of the collision such as an off-duty officer in plain clothes, for example, or an undercover officer.
The distinction between a 20-year maximum and life in prison can turn entirely on the evidence about what the defendant saw and what a reasonable person would have concluded in those circumstances. In cases where the enhancement is being litigated, that factual question is where the defense focuses.
The BAC Evidence in This Case
Evans’s BAC was measured at 0.12% hours after the crash. From a forensic science standpoint, that number deserves examination even in a case where the underlying facts are not in dispute.
Blood alcohol concentration measured after a crash represents the BAC at the time of the draw, not at the time of the collision. Depending on how much time elapsed between the crash and the blood draw, and on where the defendant was in their absorption and elimination curve, the BAC at the time of driving could have been higher or lower than the measured value. This is the retrograde extrapolation problem.
In Evans’s case, the prosecution’s narrative (approximately 10 shots of tequila, followed by a crash, followed by a blood draw hours later at 0.12%) suggests that the BAC at the time of the crash was likely higher than the measured value, since alcohol continues to be absorbed after consumption and elimination begins thereafter. A reconstructed BAC timeline would depend on the specific timing of consumption, the last drink, the crash, and the draw.
None of this changes the fundamental facts of the Evans case, which she admitted to by pleading guilty. But it illustrates why forensic analysis of blood evidence matters even in cases where guilt is not contested, particularly when sentencing depends on the jury’s assessment of the defendant’s conduct and culpability.
Bentley’s Law
One consequence that applies regardless of whether the victim was a peace officer: Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42.0375 (Bentley’s Law) requires a court to order a defendant convicted of intoxication manslaughter to pay monthly child support restitution to any minor children of the victim for each child until they turn 18 or graduate from high school. This restitution obligation runs from the date of conviction and continues through and beyond any period of incarceration.
In the Evans case, with a life sentence and 30-year parole eligibility, this restitution obligation will follow her for decades after any eventual release. Bentley’s Law applies to every intoxication manslaughter conviction, not just those involving peace officers.
The Full Range of Intoxication Manslaughter Outcomes
The Evans sentence is at the extreme end of the intoxication manslaughter punishment spectrum. It required the combination of a first-degree enhancement based on the victim’s peace officer status, a guilty plea (which in Texas allows the jury to assess punishment across the full range of the applicable felony) and a Tarrant County jury that was presented with aggravating facts including the flight from scene and the context of killing an officer working to protect others at an active crash.
Most intoxication manslaughter cases do not result in life sentences. The second-degree base range of 2 to 20 years encompasses most outcomes. Probation with a mandatory period of confinement as a condition is available in some cases. The specific facts (the defendant’s BAC, their prior record, whether they remained at the scene, their conduct before and after the crash, and the circumstances of the victim’s death) drive the sentencing outcome more than any other variable.
What the Evans case illustrates is that in the right (or wrong) combination of circumstances, a DWI that results in a death is not a misdemeanor enhanced by tragedy. It is a charge that Texas law treats with the same punishment range as aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault, and most forms of murder. The peace officer enhancement brings it into territory that most people never associate with a drunk driving case.
Deandra Grant Law handles intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault cases across North and Central Texas. Managing Partner Deandra Grant holds a Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Science, a Graduate Certificate in Forensic Toxicology, and the ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist designation. She has practiced criminal defense in North and Central Texas for more than 30 years. Call (214) 225-7117 for a confidential consultation.
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