Leah Van Norman traded victim restitution for reduced time in prison in Warren County Circuit Court Friday.

Van Norman, 29, who has been serving a 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty Aug. 19 to aggravated drunk driving, had petitioned for a reduction in her sentence.

After a nearly three-hour hearing, Holmes County Circuit Judge Jannie Lewis reduced Van Norman’s sentence to five years, with three to serve, and accepted Van Norman’s offer to pay $25,000 in restitution to former Vicksburg police Lt. Todd McBroom, the victim in the June 24, 2007, wreck caused by Van Norman’s driving under the influence.

“I’m very satisfied with what the judge said,” McBroom said outside the courtroom. “The restitution will help me — my knee’s in bad shape.”

About 15 family members and friends of Van Norman who attended the hearing sat stunned at the decision, however, and had no comment. Her attorney, Robin L. Roberts of Hattiesburg, said he would “carefully consider” Van Norman’s options but indicated there were grounds for appeal.

Lewis has presided over Van Norman’s case since Warren County Circuit Judges Isadore Patrick and M. James Chaney recused themselves.

In her ruling, the judge said that of the various types of grounds that could support Van Norman’s petition — including constitutional issues as well as questions of the adequacy of legal counsel she received prior to her guilty plea — the hearing provided evidence only of new “material” information.

“The one point of evidence not considered at sentencing was the fact that there was some restitution that should have been paid to the victim and the defendant’s ability to pay it,” Lewis said. “This is the first time the court is hearing that the defendant can pay $25,000.”

She gave Van Norman eight months after her release to pay McBroom or face re-imprisonment.

Both Van Norman and McBroom were seriously injured in the 2007 wreck, which occurred on Halls Ferry Road around 4:30 a.m. Blood tests showed her blood alcohol level was .18, more than twice the legal limit of .08.

“I’d just like to tell Mr. Todd that I am very sorry,” said Van Norman in a tearful statement before Lewis rendered her decision. “I know it seems like it’s all about me, that nobody thinks about you, but I think about you every day, and I’m sorry every day. I’m going to make it up to you.”

Roberts said with credit for time served and potential early-release considerations, Van Norman could be out of prison in about 12 months.

Roberts presented five witnesses, including Van Norman. Much of the testimony concerned Van Norman’s health problems suffered upon her arrival at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility on Aug. 31, which compounded injuries she received in the 2007 wreck.

Roberts questioned Van Norman’s mother, as well as the medical director for the Mississippi Department of Corrections, in an effort to show that during her incarceration Van Norman has not received the medical care she needs, including orthopedic surgery and extensive physical therapy.

Lewis ruled that Van Norman’s injuries subsequent to her sentencing were not grounds for reducing the sentence, adding, “I don’t see any problem with the medical attention she has received. It may not be what she would get in the free world, but MDOC has a lot of inmates.”

District Attorney Ricky Smith did not cross-examine witnesses. After Roberts was finished presenting his case, Smith conferred briefly with McBroom and his wife, but McBroom did not testify.

McBroom, a 25-year veteran of the VPD, had retired and was working as a security guard at the Engineer Research and Development Center at the time of the wreck.

Both McBroom and Van Norman, who lived at 8214 Fisher Ferry Road, have had multiple surgeries. Van Norman is currently confined to a wheelchair.

Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com