FORT WORTH - A 25-year-old Arlington man who had been on probation since 2008 for killing one teenager and seriously injuring another in a drunken-driving collision was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison.
Adam Michael Parks had been convicted of intoxication manslaughter in the death of Nicholas Cullens, 17, and intoxication assault for injuring Sara Coots, also 17.
His probation was threatened by a drug charge this year.
Parks will be eligible for parole in five years.
Authorities said that on April 14, 2007, Parks had a blood-alcohol level of 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit, and was speeding at 60 mph when he collided with a car carrying Cullens and Coots at a south Arlington intersection.
In September 2008, a Tarrant County jury convicted Parks on both charges. Jurors recommended 10 years of probation on the manslaughter charge and five years on the assault charge, with the sentences to run concurrently. District Judge Scott Wisch ordered him to serve 180 days in jail as a condition of his probation.
In March, Parks was charged with possession of methamphetamine, and prosecutors moved to revoke his probation.
Defense attorney Edward Jones said Thursday that he could have argued that the drugs did not belong to Parks because they were in a car driven by someone else. Had Parks lost, however, Wisch might have ordered him to serve the sentences consecutively, he said.
Instead, just before his revocation hearing, Parks agreed to accept the maximum prison term on each charge if he could serve them concurrently. He also agreed to serve 180 days in the drug case.
Wisch gave Parks credit for time served and urged him to take advantage of intensive substance-abuse treatment available in prison.
Prosecutor Rhett Parham said the families of Cullens and Coots were happy to have the case behind them.
"Some resolution did them some good," he said.
Martha Deller,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram