Woman sentenced for fatal Beaver Lake hit-and-run

The woman charged with running over and killing a man with her car at Beaver Lake Park was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison on Friday afternoon.

Ka'Deidre Rials, 24,  admits she ran over and killed Moises "Mo" Radcliffe, 22,  at Beaver Lake Park on Jan. 25, 2017.

Radcliffe, the son of a Seattle police officer, was at the park with his girlfriend and his dog, Blu.

Radcliffe's girlfriend spoke at the sentencing. "He was someone that was always there for you, he listened to everything I said. I miss him." said Marissa Bailey fighting back tears.

Seattle Police officers attended the sentencing to support Mo's dad, Todd Radcliffe.

"I just wanted a chance to tell you about Mo, who spent his first years in extreme poverty and ended up in an orphanage in Guatemala," Todd Radcliffe told the judge. “He couldn't see until he got his first pair of glasses at 7 and used that adversity to make himself into the person he was. He had a capacity for love I can't even fathom and he taught us all to love in a way we never did before."

Investigators say Mo Radciffe saw his car was prowled in January 2017, grabbed his gun out of the trunk and chased down the SUV. As he fired, Rials ran over him.

Rials pleaded guilty to felony hit-and-run and identity theft in the second degree in King County Superior Court.

Detectives say the car prowlers raced to the closest store to buy gift cards with the stolen credit cards.

As police tracked down Rials and her accomplices, King County detectives ended up at a Des Moines apartment.

They went to arrest a 16-year-old, but the attempt ended with the deadly shooting of 17-year-old  Mi'Chance Dunlap Gittens, who deputies say was armed with a handgun.

Last summer there was a huge spike in car prowls at local parks. Bellevue police had their special enforcement team focus on the crime trend and called it "Operation Radcliffe" in memory of Moises Radcliffe.

Detectives made more than a dozen arrests, impounded vehicles and recovered handguns. They  found the gift cards the suspects bought with stolen credit cards were fueling local gang activity.

Before she was sentenced on Friday Rials had a chance to speak.

"First off I would like to apologize to the Radcliffe family," she said. "I am a parent so I know there is nothing I can say or do that will change your disdain for me, ease your grief, or comfort your loss. My actions were reckless and life-changing and if I could rewind that day a million times I would."

When Rials pleaded guilty last month, both sides agreed on a sentencing recommendation of 4.5 years. Judge Regina S. Cahan followed that recommendation and sentenced Rials to 4.5 years in prison.

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