TAMPA, Fla. — A judge denied the motion to reduce the sentence of a driver involved in a 2018 crash that killed a mother and her baby in Tampa.
Cameron Herrin, the then 18-year-old, was the man who was behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang that hit and killed a mother and her baby on Bayshore Boulevard in 2018.
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Herrin pleaded guilty in Dec. 2020 to two counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of unlawful racing on a highway. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison but submitted a motion to have it reduced to 10 years stating:
"As a basis, in part, for his request, Mr. Herrin asserts that on April 9, 2022, the day after his sentencing, Andrew H. Warren, the State Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit at the time of sentencing, left defense counsel a voicemail message indicating he believed Mr. Herrin’s 24-year sentence was 'excessively harsh.'"
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Christopher Nash denied Herrin's request and, per the ruling, Herrin is "not entitled to an appeal of this Order."
Warren sent ABC Action News the following statement based on Judge Nash's decision, "As I’ve said, it’s no secret that I was surprised by the judge’s sentence because he went above the statutory guidelines. But our job was to hold the defendants accountable and deliver justice for Jessica and Lillia, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Herrin and another man, John Barrineau, were accused of racing at the time of the deadly crash. Barrineau also pleaded guilty. He received a six-year prison sentence.
“This crime took two beautiful lives and left four families broken,” State Attorney Andrew Warren said during Herrin's trial in 2021. “No sentence can repair that damage or bring back the lives lost, but we hope this outcome delivers some comfort and closure for Jessica’s and Lillia’s families.”
The judge sentenced Herrin as an adult, not a youthful offender, which he said he considered.
During the trial, his defense team, John Fitzgibbons, said Herrin made a mistake and didn’t fully understand the consequences that could occur while speeding.
Dr. Michael Scott Maher also testified that scientifically the brain of an 18-year-old isn’t fully developed and wired the same way the brain of a person in their 20s is.
“How could he do something so stupid? He’s a bright kid," said Dr. Maher, a Forensic Psychiatrist who met with Herrin professionally 30-40 times. "It is because the stop and think part of the brain, the frontal lobe where we stop and think about our actions, is not developed.”
Herrin’s family also talked about selling their house and fighting their insurance company to get money to pay the Reisinger-Raubenolt family.
Investigators said Herrin was driving over 100 mph when he hit 24-year-old Jessica Reisinger-Raubenolt and 21-month-old Lillia Raubenolt.
“We have a perspective on this. I don’t want to seem that I don’t feel for the Herrin family, I do," said Pamela Reisinger, Jessica's mother. "But their perspective on what they’ve lost can’t compare to two sweet souls that were crossing the street coming home from a park.”
Assistant State Attorney Aaron Hubbard, the state prosecutor, also pulled up a log from Herrin’s Mustang that details how fast it was going just days before the crash — 162 mph on I-75. They said on the day of the crash, while he was racing, he hit a speed of 101 mph.
“This was a crash, not an accident. Please be aware of that," said David Raubenolt, Jessica's husband and Lilia's father. “It is critical for you to understand that you’ve created everlasting pain and depths of sorrow," he said.
