07/09/2008

Associated Press

The state appeals court has ordered that 15 years be taken off the prison sentence of a man who pleaded guilty to being the getaway driver for a gunman who fatally shot an off-duty South Bend police officer.

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday the 45-year sentence for Mijell Redding was inappropriate considering he had never been charged with a crime before and because he helped police with their investigation into the shooting death of Cpl. Scott Severns in April 2006.

Redding, 20, of South Bend pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted robbery for being the getaway driver when Jeffrey Finley tried to rob Severns and the pair exchanged gunfire. The court ordered a 30-year sentence for Redding.

Redding and Finely were sentenced by different St. Joseph County judges in 2007. Severns' family and police officers criticized Judge Roland W. Chamblee Jr. as too lenient for sentencing Finley to 65 years in prison for murder and attempted robbery, while praising Judge John M. Marnocha for Redding's comparatively harsher sentence.

South Bend police Capt. Phil Trent called the appeals court ruling on Redding's case "a disservice to law enforcement in our community."

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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com