GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A 16-year-old charged in a fatal crash can be housed in the adult portion of the jail, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Sienna Pecore faces five counts, including first-degree reckless homicide, for allegedly stealing her mother’s car, driving at more than 100 mph and then crashing, killing a passenger, Cruz Beltron. The crash at Mason and Oneida streets happened on Oct. 30, 2022.
In Wisconsin, those ages 10 and older charged with certain homicide counts are prosecuted in adult court, such as in this case. Pecore was 15 at the time of the crash. Her attorneys have asked for the case to be moved to juvenile court, but Judge John Zakowski has not ruled on that motion yet.
Pecore’s attorneys also asked the court for an order removing her from the adult jail population, which they contend is a violation of a federal law designed to protect juveniles from sexual assaults by adult inmates. That law is known as PREA, the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
In his four-page decision, Zakowski said neither state or federal law require Pecore – who was originally charged as an adult — to be housed in a juvenile facility.
“The court has been told Sienna is presently housed in a location in the jail where there are absolutely no adult inmates, and she does not have sound or sight contact with adult inmates. She is being kept safe and the court finds the Sheriff is complying with the goal of the PREA. The court’s interpretation of the law is that a juvenile charged as an adult may be housed in an adult jail with the proper safeguards,” the decision states.
That said, given the way the law is written, the judge said he also plans to hold a hearing within 30 days “at which time the court will consider the ‘in the interest of justice’ statutory factors and for further discussion of this issue.”
A status hearing is currently scheduled for Nov. 1.
According to the criminal complaint, Pecore told police she had her mother’s car without permission.
“(The officer) asked Pecore why was she driving so fast and she said that she did not know and that she just was. (The officer) asked Pecore if she was racing another car, weaving in and out of traffic or being encouraged to drive that fast and she said she was not. (The officer) informed Pecore that a preliminary speed estimate was that she was traveling in excess of 100 MPH and Pecore said that she did not think that was right,” the complaint states.
“Pecore stated that she saw that the light was green, but then it turned yellow so she thought she could make it through the intersection. Pecore did state that she did remember seeing a vehicle stopped northbound on S. Oneida St. just south of W. Mason St. Pecore recalled the vehicle enter the intersection as she approached. Pecore stated that she then really did not remember what happened,” the complaint states.
Police used security cameras to estimate her speed.
“My analysis of the Walgreens video concluded that the Corolla was traveling an average of 170.9 feet per second or 116.5 MPH over the last 188 ft or 1.1 seconds prior to impact. My analysis of the Shell video concluded that the Corolla was traveling an average of 181 feet per second or 123.4 MPH over the last 362 feet or 2 seconds prior to impact. The posted speed limit here is 35 MPH,” the complaint states.
