Grieving mom of teen killed by drunk driver slams Arlington prosecutor

ARLINGTON, Va. — The devastated mother of an Arlington teen killed by a drunk driver is blasting the county’s progressive prosecutor.

Rose Kehoe is pushing Democrats to withdraw their support for Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, after her son’s killer got just one year in juvenile detention.

But Dehghani-Tafti says the teen driver did not meet to criteria to be tried as an adult, and she says the judge's sentence confirms that.

Kehoe's Arlington home is crowded with images of her son's joy-filled live. 

"This is Nov. 10, the evening before Braylon passed away," she said, pointing at a picture Braylon Meade, 17, crowded onto a couch with four of his good friends.

It's been five months since Braylon’s death, and his mother is struggling with her grief.

She's refused to look at images from the scene. In traffic camera video, you can see the 17-year-old driver of the SUV that hit Braylon leap out. Investigators say he was drunk, high, and speeding.

Braylon, a senior and basketball standout at Washington Liberty High School had just left his girlfriend’s house and was heading home. 

"You don’t expect police to show up at your doorstep just after midnight," said Kehoe, remembering the horrible night. "I knew right away from their body language that Braylon was gone."

But she said she got very different body language from Dehghani-Tafti. 

"It made no sense whatsoever that she didn’t even listen to us," she said of her one meeting with the Commonwealth's Attorney. "We said this person is two months shy of turning 18. He drove 90 miles an hour. He was under the influence of THC and alcohol. He killed our son by the impact of his car. He should be tried as an adult. And she had already made up her mind."

Kehoe said Dehghani-Tafti seemed more focused on the mental health of the defendant. "She felt more empathy for the defendant and focused more on the defense than she did on the prosecution," Kehoe said.

"Braylon's death is a devastating loss for his family and friends, and I am heartbroken over it," Dehghani-Tafti responded.

She said she doesn’t want to say anything to add to his family’s pain. But she’s also said her office asked the judge to sentence Braylon’s killer to three years in juvenile detention. The judge decided on just one. And she argued that sentence confirms her belief that his case did not meet the criteria for transfer to adult court.

"The Virginia code provides for transfer of a juvenile to adult court in limited situations, and requires consideration of several factors, like whether the offense was premeditated and whether a weapon was used, versus the mental health of the defendant and the availability of services. All this is because we know from both experience and science, kids are different from adults," she said in a written statement to WUSA9.

"My team and I met with Braylon's family, listened to them, and carefully considered this case – with the guideposts of justice and the safety of the community – before determining it was not an appropriate case for transfer," she said.

But she was first elected on a pledge to treat kids like kids. When asked if there were any circumstances in which she would charge a juvenile as an adult, she declined to respond.

The executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, a national network of elected prosecutors, reached out to WUSA9 after we talked to Dehghani-Tafti. 

"Science shows that young people under the age of 25 are developmentally different from adults and should be treated differently by the system. The science also shows that young people have a greater capacity for rehabilitation, are more responsive to treatment than adults because their brains are still developing, and are more likely to age out of criminal behavior," wrote Miriam Krinsky.

Braylon’s mom – a lifelong Democrat – is now supporting Dehghani-Tafti’s challenger in the Democratic primary, Josh Katcher, a former Arlington assistant commonwealth's attorney.

"We’re sending the wrong message to young people behind the wheel," of what happened to the teen who was found responsible for involuntary manslaughter in Braylon's death. "We’re saying it’s ok to drink alcohol and drive a vehicle. Or have THC and drive a vehicle. Because if you get caught, you’re only going to get one year of detention.

The teen driver will get out about the time Braylon would have been entering his sophomore year at the University of Michigan. Braylon had just been admitted to the prestigious school where his parents met and his older siblings graduated.

Keoh said, "He was our baby!"