A man charged with manslaughter in connection with a multi-vehicle crash that killed three people six years ago learned his fate Wednesday afternoon.
In lieu of moving forward with a jury trial, Aris Jamal Ransom-Powell, 29, took a plea deal and will spend the next seven years in prison.
Judge Benjamin Robertson, who presides over Bexar County’s 226th Criminal District Court, told the state and the defense he accepted the plea deal because prosecutors are not able to track down a key witness: Ransom-Powell’s sister.
“I find this plea difficult to accept because of the nature of the offense: that we’ve got three dead kids over $30 of marijuana,” Robertson said. “I’m going to accept the seven years, even though I think it’s wholly insufficient under the facts of this case, as stipulated and as I understand them. But, facing a potential ‘not guilty,’ I feel like I’m forced to accept it.”
Jurors were seated ahead of a potential trial Tuesday.
San Antonio police officers responded to the crash just before 4:30 p.m. on June 24, 2020, near the intersection of McCullough Avenue and Pinewood Lane.
SAPD initially reported two deaths in the crash, but investigators later determined a third person injured in the collision was later pronounced dead.
Police said one of the vehicles lost control and hit a tree, resulting in two deaths.
Last month, SAPD and Guadalupe County Sheriff’s deputies executed an arrest warrant and took Powell into custody in the 300 block of Hinge Loop in Cibolo. During his arrest, GCSO said deputies located a stolen vehicle.
If Ransom-Powell went forward with a jury trial and was convicted, he could have faced up to 20 years in prison.
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