One of the two teens accused of drag racing and killing a 22-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter.
Elijah Seals, 18, pleaded guilty to reckless driving causing homicide by vehicle for the 2023 crash that killed Jennifer Russell.
His co-defendant, Kesean Ford, is also attempting to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and drag racing causing vehicular homicide. His plea was denied because of a technicality.
Seals' attorney clarified in court filings that his client would enter an "Alford plea," which allows the accused to plead guilty "even though he is unwilling to admit participation in the crime" or when the plea contains "a protestation of innocence." The plea stems from the 1970 U.S. Supreme Court decision in North Carolina v. Alford.
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Teens allegedly 'drag racing' at time of 2023 crash
Seals and Ford were allegedly engaged in a side-by-side drag race down the two-lane East Court Street in Iowa City on the evening of May 27, 2023. Witnesses reported seeing the vehicles driven by Ford and Seals traveling at a high rate of speed.
The vehicle allegedly driven by Ford, a 2008 Saturn Vue, struck the vehicle driven by Russell, of Waterloo, the county’s release said . The initial collision caused Russell’s vehicle to collide with Seals’ 2012 GMC Acadia.
Russell had just entered the intersection after stopping at one of the stop signs. She later died from injuries sustained in the collision.
Local authorities combed over vehicle and cell phone data and determined that Ford and Seals were side-by-side and traveling quickly on Court Street, allegedly at least double the posted 25-mile-per-hour speed limit. Court Street is a two-lane road, with one lane of travel in each direction. The pair also allegedly ran a stop sign at that intersection, the county attorney’s office said.
Seals will ask for lenient sentence but six-figure restitution at sentencing
Homicide by vehicle is a Class "C" felony under Iowa law, carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $13,660.
In court filings, his attorney clarifies that Seals will ask the court to suspend the 10-year sentence and instead impose three years of probation. If the court accepts this proposal, Seals will be required to serve a 10-year prison sentence if he violates his probation.
As part of this request, Seals' attorney said he and his co-defendant, Kesean Ford, would work to pay $150,000 in restitution to Russell's estate. The payment agreement would go into effect if a jury finds Ford guilty of a felony at trial, scheduled for Nov. 5.
If the court accepts these proposals, Seals' attorney is also asking that the court no longer require electronic monitoring of his client.
A sentencing hearing for Seals has been set for Dec. 2.
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Co-defendant attempted to plead guilty to lesser offense
Ford, also 18, attempted to plead guilty to two counts of charges on Sept. 24, but was denied due to "deficiencies" in the varying levels of felony charges.
The prosecutors argued that Ford pled guilty to a "lesser included offense," Class "D" involuntary manslaughter, and Class "C" homicide by vehicle because of drag racing, without the prosecution's approval. Johnson County District Court Judge David Cox, in a six-page breakdown and ruling filed Monday, denied the state's rebuttal but also denied Ford's guilty plea.
The state originally charged Ford with four criminal counts − three vehicular manslaughter charges and involuntary manslaughter − in December of 2023. Judge Cox wrote that the state later amended the case and charged Ford with two counts instead of four − involuntary manslaughter and homicide by vehicle with numerous "theories" to how Russell was killed, which included drag racing.
Ford’s defense argued that he didn’t plead guilty to a “lesser included offense,” but instead an “alternative theory,” which the court said he did not need the state’s permission to do so.
Ford's lawyer argued that the amended trial information was written as an alternative with an "and/or" for each felony charge, so they determined they could choose which charges Ford could plead to.
The court did not agree that Ford had an option to plead to different charges; instead, he must plead to all charges and counts.
"To plead guilty to count two as charged, (Ford) would have had to plead to all three charges in count two," the court ruling said. "He did not do that and therefore the court cannot accept his guilty plea as it provides an insufficient basis for his guilty plea to count two."
The court said reducing the criminal counts from four to two “creates unnecessary confusion” for the criminal charges, noting that the court could not “adequately determine the appropriate charge for count two.”
The court’s ruling said the state did not intend to change the “nature of the charges.”
As of Tuesday, Oct. 1, Ford had not entered another guilty plea. However, under the newly amended trial information, a similar guilty plea would likely be permissible.
Court filings say Ford's trial was moved to Nov. 5.
Russell honored with 2023 memorial
The 22-year-old Russell was remembered fondly by friends and family. She was born and raised in Waterloo and loved music and dancing. A memorial in her honor sits at the intersection where the crash occurred. She would have turned 24 on Sept. 13.
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Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: One 'drag racing' teens pleads guilty to vehicular homicide, 2nd teen's plea denied
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