Judge Braig sentences Mohler to maximum sentence for death of high school student

MAY 28, 2024—Judge Kevin P. Braig of the Logan County Court of Common Pleas today sentenced Briana Mohler to an indefinite mandatory prison term of 11 to 16.5 years on her conviction of aggravated vehicular homicide, a felony of the first degree. Announced in a press release published on Tuesday, May 28th, and obtained by Capsule News, Judge Braig also sentenced Mohler to 180 days in jail to be served concurrently on her conviction of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It was the maximum prison term permitted under Ohio law.

On January 25, 2024, Mohler was operating Daniel P. Oakley’s truck when she went left of center and struck a vehicle driven by Chloe Hodge head on. The impact from the collision caused the death of Hodge, who was a junior at Indian Lake High School studying nursing at the Ohio Hi-Point Vocational Career Center. She also played sports and worked at Hurley Market. Dozens of her classmates, friends, and relatives attended the sentencing. Her mother, grandmother, and other relatives, as well as several of her classmates, addressed the Court and asked the Court to impose the maximum sentence.

At the time of the accident, Mohler was before the Court both as a victim of domestic violence and on the charge of aggravated possession of drugs, a felony of the fifth degree. She was out on bail on the possession charge at the time of the accident. She had not been charged with any crime in Logan County in almost eight years. On April 15, 2024, the Court sentenced Daniel P. Oakley to six years in prison on two counts of strangulation, felonies of the third degree, one county of possession of a fentanyl-related compound, a felony of the fifth degree, and two misdemeanor counts of domestic violence. On the date of the accident, he was in the Logan County Jail for violating his bail.

In September of 2023, the Court revoked Mohler’s bail and ordered that she successfully complete treatment at The Counseling Center in Portsmouth, Ohio. In December Mohler left the treatment facility and returned to Logan County. After being arrested, she was released from the Logan County Jail to obtain necessary medical care related to post-pregnancy complications. On January 9, 2024, approximately two weeks prior to the accident, she appeared as scheduled by her attorney and pleaded guilty to the possession charge.

“The Court permitted her to remain out on bail [after the plea], which in hindsight was a mistake,” Judge Braig told a packed courtroom. “I should have put her back in the Logan County Jail to await sentencing and for not doing so, I will forever be sorry.”

Logan County Prosecutor Eric Stewart represented the State of Ohio. Samantha Berkhofer of Springfield, Ohio, represented Mohler.

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