Woman gets 3-10 years for running down victim in SW Detroit
DETROIT (FOX 2) - On Friday Nicole Mardeusz learned her fate after running down a Melvindale woman last summer.
Mardeusz was behind the wheel of a green Ford Escort intentionally running over a 23-year-old Shaina Sarnowsky last June.
Judge: "Why would you do this?"
"I honestly don't know," said Mardeusz.
Judge: "There was really no need for it."
"No there wasn't," she said.
"Last thing I remember after that was being dragged under the car and spinning, spinning and spinning," said Sarnowsky who spoke to FOX 2 days after the attack,
She said it all started when Mardeusz began calling her a hooker at a nearby store, following her to the VFW post in southwest Detroit, where she had planned to volunteer.
"I was assaulted by (first) having a hot cup of coffee thrown at me," Sarnowsky said in court at the sentencing.
Mardeusz plowed into Sarnowsky and kept going. Police tracked Mardeusz down days later and arrested her.
Mardeusz reached a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon but her attorney angled for leniency.
"I understand the contract is for 3 to 10 years your honor," the attorney said. "I would hope that you can afford some clemency given her youth, given her prior record - lack thereof, and take that into account in your sentence."
The judge did not budge, sentencing her to spend three to 10 years in prison. The lives of two young women forever changed.
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"Before this incident I did not have a perfect life, but I was better off than I am standing here today," Sarnowsky said in court.
Sarnowsky says she is still suffering from pain including nerve damage. She says she may never recover and will always be left wondering -- why her.
"I am grateful she said sorry, but I am surprised that I even got that out of her," she said. "I wish she would have said more as to what was going through her head, even if it was somebody that made her angry."