Devawn Mitchell faces a long prison sentence for the traffic death of Steve Henry last year.
On Thursday, Lyon County Judge Lee Fowler sentenced Mitchell to 554 months for first-degree felony murder. Mitchell will also serve 39 months for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, with flee and elude and other counts to be served concurrently to the aggravated assault charge. All told, the sentence involves 593 months in prison.
During the sentencing announcement, Fowler mentioned the court’s role in high-profile cases such as Henry’s death.
Fowler convicted Mitchell of first-degree felony murder, aggravated assault on law enforcement and felony flee and elude after a two-day bench trial in March. The trial ended almost a year to the day after the crash that killed Henry on West Sixth between Chestnut and Lawrence. Mitchell — who was out of jail earlier that week on a lesser charge — allegedly led two pursuits across parts of Emporia and was driving at a high rate of speed when his car hit Henry’s truck, killing him almost instantly. Officers had called off a pursuit because of unsafe driving conditions shortly before the crash.
Prosecutor Carissa Brinker said Mitchell’s failed attempt to kill himself led to Henry’s death and put a lot of other drivers in danger.
Mitchell offered his condolences to the Henry family before requesting a more lenient sentence, largely due to schizophrenia. He also said he wanted to attend college and feared a lengthy prison sentence.
Henry was a 1989 inductee into the Emporia State Athletics Hall of Honor. He was a four-year letterman in both football and track. After his time at Emporia State, Henry was drafted by the then-St. Louis Cardinals in 1979 and played three years in the NFL with the Cardinals, New York Giants and Baltimore Colts. During the 2019 season, he also was an analyst for several Emporia State football broadcasts on MIX 104.9.
An appeal is planned.
