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Man gets maximum of 60 years in death

A judge ignores pleas for leniency, saying he wasted opportunities and took a life he didn't have to in a road rage incident.

By CARRIE WEIMAR
Published June 27, 2006

TAMPA - Jarrish Outlaw ran the 110-meter hurdles faster than anyone in Boca Ciega High School history and dreamed of competing in the 2000 Olympics.

But when an injury ended his athletic career, Outlaw got angry.

His first arrest came in 2000, when he was accused of carrying a gun at the North Carolina college at which he had an athletic scholarship. He returned to St. Petersburg, and a string of arrests followed, including battery on a law enforcement officer and disorderly intoxication.

Then, on June 4, 2004, Outlaw's anger exploded in a road rage incident in Tampa that ended with him ramming his car into a motorcycle and killing a man.

On Monday, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Barbara Fleischer expressed regret over the opportunities that Outlaw squandered. Then she sentenced him to 60 years in prison.

"You took a life, which you did not have to take," Fleischer said. "You used no judgment whatsoever."

Outlaw, 29, showed no reaction. Only moments before, he had turned to the family of the victim, Ronald Eugene Bell, and apologized.

"All I can say is I'm sorry to both families and to my friends," Outlaw said. "I just ask for mercy. I'm sorry, your honor."

Outlaw graduated from Gulfport's Boca Ciega High School in 1996. That year, he ran the nation's second-fastest high school time in the 110-meter hurdles at the 20th Golden South Classic. He also won the state Class 5A 100 dash and 110-meter hurdles titles.

According to court testimony, Outlaw was fresh from a night out in Ybor City with his girlfriend and a friend in June 2004. He was behind the wheel of his Honda Civic and possibly under the influence of drugs and alcohol, police said.

Bell, 29, was on his way home from a motorcycle event in Ybor City, riding with his cousin.

While stopped at a red light at 22nd Street and Hillsborough Avenue, Outlaw argued with Bell about his driving.

Outlaw drove around the corner, and Bell followed him. Outlaw got out of his car, and a second confrontation ensued.

Defense attorney Martin Hernandez said Bell lifted the wheel of his motorcycle and struck Outlaw in the chest. Bell's family disputed the accusation, saying Bell wasn't strong enough to lift the motorcycle.

Enraged, Outlaw chased Bell down Powhatan Avenue. Bell slowed as he reached Nebraska Avenue, and Outlaw hit him from behind, police said.

The impact sent the motorcycle crashing through a wooden fence and into the pond of a two-story blue house at the southwest corner of Powhatan and Nebraska.

Bell landed on the sidewalk at the corner, his helmet still on, witnesses said. Outlaw's car crashed into a utility pole.

Outlaw abandoned the car and ran off, leaving behind his two passengers. Jurors found Outlaw guilty of vehicular homicide in April.

Hernandez argued for leniency in the sentence, saying Outlaw is a promising young man only one year away from completing his college degree.

"I've seen him go through a roller coaster of emotions," Hernandez said. "From disbelief to anger, and now to remorse."

Hernandez also said Bell shared some of the blame for the crash for following Outlaw and provoking a second confrontation. He asked the judge to sentence Outlaw to seven years in prison and 13 years of supervised release.

But Assistant State Attorney Kim Seace said Outlaw's escalating criminal record showed a deeply troubled man who was ready to explode.

"He was given tremendous opportunities in his life, and he flushed it away," Seace said.

Fleischer said it was Outlaw's criminal record that prompted her to ignore his lawyer's request for leniency and sentence him to the maximum allowed by the law.

"If this was an isolated incident, I would consider doing what you asked me to do," Fleischer said.

Outlaw's grandmother, Elizabeth LeShore, left the courtroom in tears.

Bell's family and friends said they thought the sentence was justified. They described Bell as a loving father who adored his children, who were ages 7 months, 6 and 11 when he died.

Ronald Bell's wife, Tineka Bell, 33, said she was relieved that she will never have to see Outlaw again.

"Every day has been a game to him," Bell said. "Today, the game is over."

Carrie Weimar can be reached at cweimar@sptimes.com or 813 226-3416.

[Last modified June 27, 2006, 05:52:10]