A woman who, along with her young son, was shot by an off-duty police officer during an apparent road-rage incident learned her fate on Thursday.
Rachel Silva, now 29, and her then 8-year-old son were shot in an Oceanside parking lot by Frank White in March 2008. A jury found White not guilty last month on weapons charges that were filed in the wake of the shooting.
On Thursday, Silva, who pleaded guilty to the charges in November, was sentenced to five years of probation on a charge of child endangerment, plus time served for a driving-under-the influence charge. She was also given a four-year prison sentence that was suspended pending the successful completion of her probation.
Prior to sentencing, the officers' wife, Jacquellyn White, addressed the court and asked for the maximum sentence.
"I want her to be held accountable," White told the court, adding later that "I have felt scared in my own neighborhood."
Frank White, who has returned to duty, was working Thursday and was not in court for Silva's sentencing.
During the trial, White and his wife both told jurors they felt threatened during the incident by Silva, who clipped the Whites' car.
Defense lawyers told jurors during White's trial that Silva had an "uncontrollable rage" and that her conduct was what was on trial, and that that is what the Whites were confronting and what justified his use of his gun to stop Silva. Defense attorney Rick Pinckard also said White had a "reasonable" concern for his safety that night. The defense attorney also told jurors that Silva "repeatedly assaulted" the Whites with her car, that that was "no different than if she had lunged them with a knife."
Prosecutors, however, maintained that when White fired his gun into Silva’s car, it wasn't done in self-defense.
