By Joe Gerrety
jgerrety@journalandcourier.com

More than 30 friends and relatives of a 19-year-old killed in a drunken driving crash last spring packed Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 on Thursday.

One member of the group read a letter urging a judge to show mercy on the defendant, Grant L. O'Leary, 24.

"We respect your obligation and position to uphold the law. We would prefer to err on the side of mercy rather than justice," said Charles Whitaker, grandfather of victim Jeremy L. Kuns.

"If Grant can be rehabilitated and feel the love of God in his life, Jeremy's death will not have been in vain."

Judge Thomas Busch complimented Kuns' family members on their ability to forgive. He imposed a mitigated sentence of 11 years in prison and three years on probation.

O'Leary could have faced up to 36 years under an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to Class B felony drunken driving and Class C felony leaving the scene of a fatal crash. He also admitted to being a habitual substance offender.

O'Leary was on probation for a prior drunken driving conviction when he caused the crash that killed Kuns.

O'Leary was driving north on Indiana 25 North and crossed the center line to pass other vehicles when he crashed head-on into Kuns' southbound motorcycle. Then he fled the scene in the vehicle of a friend who came upon the wreck.

After his arrest some time later, O'Leary had a blood-alcohol content of 0.14 percent. The legal BAC limit for driving in Indiana is 0.08 percent.

O'Leary's mother, Karen Howard, said her son became depressed and began drinking heavily after the death last March of his father, who had battled cancer for seven years. O'Leary had been a major caregiver for his father.

O'Leary has been in a drug rehabilitation program since entering a pretrial home detention program several months ago. He said he was grateful for the forgiveness of the Kuns family and said he is trying hard to change his life.

"I never expected the Kuns family to forgive me, but they have," he said. "I will show you that I can be a better and more responsible person."