KNOXVILLE, Tenn — A 27-year-old Knoxville man was sentenced to four years in prison in the 2022 death of his unborn child.
A Knox County Criminal Court jury convicted Payton B. McCarty in September of vehicular homicide. They declined to find him guilty of murder, however.
Judge Steve Sword imposed sentenced Friday.
Prosecutors Sean Roberts and Leland Price asked the judge to sentence McCarty to the upper range of punishment, arguing he had a lengthy misdemeanor conviction history and that his victim -- the fetus -- was particularly vulnerable.
Sword agreed, noting as well that McCarty's own rash behavior led to his legal woes.
"That's the key to this whole case," the judge said.
Defense attorney Mitch Harper sought probation for his client; the state wanted confinement.
Sword said considering the harm done to both the fetus and the child's mother, McCarty's estranged girlfriend, he needed to spend time in prison.
McCarty has already served nearly 500 days in jail during prosecution. Under the four-year term imposed by Sword, he likely will be eligible for parole in another six months.
McCarty argued in June 2022 with the baby's mother, Jashara Mitchell, outside her apartment on Atlantic Avenue. Her clothing became caught in his pickup door.
He drove off, dragging Mitchell with him. Prosecutors argued he sped off deliberately, intent on hurting her.
She ended up lying in the middle of Atlantic, seriously injured. McCarty didn't return, and he didn't call 911 to get her help, the state said.
The fetus died. McCarty and Mitchell have another child together, testimony showed.