Man Convicted In DUI Death Of Wagoner 12 Year Old

It took a jury only three hours to convict a Wagoner man of hitting and killing a 12-year-old boy while driving drunk.

Prosecutors said Richard Roth had a blood alcohol content of more than three times the legal limit when he hit Billy Lord with this SUV. Lord was riding home on his bike alongside his brother from a church youth group event.

Friday, the courtroom filled with tears when the jury found Roth guilty of manslaughter and leaving the scene of the accident last November.

A Wagoner jury recommended Roth serve 20 years for hitting and killing the 12-year-old.

Billy's mother, Pamela Chuculate-Sequicha, said she and her family can now heal.

"At peace. We didn't get the life sentence we were expecting,” she said. “He's off the streets; he won't hurt nobody anymore for a while," she said.

Last November, police say Billy and his older brother, Johney, were riding their bikes home from a church youth event when police say Roth struck and killed the 12 year old.

Prosecutor Anthony Evans, said, "He made a really bad choice that night to start drinking and then ended up taking the chance in driving home and then killing the little boy."

Evans said Roth was driving drunk that night and had a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit. He said Friday's verdict provided some closure to Lord's family.

"They won't have to go through court anymore, they don't have to come down to the courthouse anymore and they can move on with their lives," he said.

Billy's brother Johney was riding alongside when he was hit. Johney's now 14 and he took the witness stand during this week's trial.

Reporter: “Was it hard being in court?"
Johney: “Yes sir, the hardest thing I'll ever go through.”
Reporter: "Do you still miss your brother?”
Johney: "Yes sir, every day, every second that I breathe."

Billy's mother said she never had any ill feeling for Roth's family.

She's proud of her son for taking the witness stand and explaining what happened that November evening.

"I've done the best as a single mom to raise my children the best that I could and I'm going to continue to do so. My son walked up on the stand as a boy and come out a man," Chuculate-Sequicha said.

Sentencing is scheduled for December.

Roth's wife and family didn't want to comment on the verdict.