Former deputy gets 120 days after killing Springfield pedestrian in hit-and-run crash

A former Stone County deputy was sentenced Friday to 120 days in jail after he admitted to fatally striking a pedestrian with his car and then fleeing the scene.

Shawn Bouley, 41, was given the "shock time" and probation in connection with a Jan. 22, 2017 crash that killed 45-year-old Bradley Bizzle.

Police say the crash occurred at about 11 p.m. as Bizzle was walking diagonally across the intersection of National Avenue and Cherry Street.

According to a probable cause statement in the case, Bouley told investigators he was "drunk" or "buzzed" and was aware that he had hit something — possibly a person — as he drove his 1995 Cadillac Seville north on National Avenue past Cherry Street, but he didn't stop because he was "scared."

Prosecutors say that since Bouley wasn't contacted by police until the day after the crash, there was no physical evidence of intoxication.

Prosecutors charged Bouley with the Class E felony of leaving the scene of an accident.

Had Bouley stuck around, he might have been charged with manslaughter, assistant Greene County Prosecutor Emily Shook said on Friday.

Shook asked for the maximum 4-year sentence, adding that investigators believe Bouley was going 53 mph in a 35 mph zone at the time of the crash.

Bouley's attorney asked for probation, adding that Bouley had a green light when he crossed the intersection.

Judge David Jones said it was a difficult decision.

Jones said 97 percent of people convicted of leaving the scene of an accident are sentenced to probation, but he felt like jail time was appropriate since a death had occurred.

"I can't ignore the fact that a person has died," Jones said. "I simply can't."

Jones also said he believed Bouley was remorseful and had accepted responsibility for his actions.

Jones drew criticism in 2016 when he granted probation for Dylan Meyer, who pleaded guilty to driving drunk and causing a fatal crash.

Bouley was a jail deputy in Stone County at time of the crash. He was also once a Reeds Spring police officer.

At Friday's sentencing hearing, Bizzle's daughter Melinda Bizzle described her father as a friendly man who loved hunting and country music.

"He made friends everywhere he went," Melinda Bizzle said. "He could meet a stranger and you would just become best friends with him."

Melinda Bizzle asked the judge to give Bouley time behind bars.

Bizzle's grandmother had something more severe in mind, telling the judge she hoped Bouley would "rot in hell."