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REID SONS ARE SENT TO JAIL
"I don't want to be that kid who was the son of the head coach of the Eagles, who was spoiled and on drugs and OD'd and just faded into oblivion," Garrett said.
For six hours, Andy and Tammy Reid sat stone-faced, in the front row next to their church bishop. They did not leave the courtroom during that time, not even to use the bathroom or to grab lunch during the break.
Tammy and Andy Reid (right) leave court after their sons Garrett (top) and Britt (above) were sentenced to jail terms yesterday in Montgomery County.
After the proceeding, they scooted out a side door, escorted by two private security guards and four sheriff's officers. They did not say a word to a horde of news media.
O'Neill first sentenced Garrett Reid to jail for two to 23 months for running a red light while high on heroin and smashing his Jeep into another motorist, who was severely hurt in the Plymouth Township crash.
Garrett expressed remorse for the accident, but O'Neill questioned whether he was truly sorry. He again cited the pre-sentencing report, in which Garrett told a probation officer that his heroin use played no role in the accident. He said the accident was caused when he dropped his backpack on the floor and reached down to get it because he wanted his iPod, which was inside.
" 'I know when I'm high,' " O'Neill quoted Garrett as saying. " 'The same thing would have happened if I was sober.' "
Later yesterday, O'Neill sentenced Britt Reid to eight to 23 months in jail and four years' probation for pointing a handgun at another driver during a road-rage incident in West Conshohocken. After five months in jail, Britt will be eligible to apply for Drug Court, which provides treatment oversight for drug offenders.
O'Neill also had harsh words for Britt. He questioned why he was driving around with a gun and a rifle in a car registered to his mother. He wondered whether he had the guns for "bravado" or "protection."
He lectured Britt on gun violence, saying police officers in Philadelphia are getting shot at alarming rates and "quite frankly, nobody is doing anything about it."
Pointing a gun in someone's face is serious business, O'Neill said.
"One slip and this is a murder case - you know it and I know it," O'Neill said.
Then, O'Neill turned his attention to Andy and Tammy Reid.
"If he is going to live in your house, you better get to know about it," O'Neill said about the drugs and guns Britt had.
Britt told the judge that he alone is responsible for his actions.
"I'm not a child. I do live in my parents' house, but they are not responsible for what I do," Britt said. "I made all of the decisions without their knowledge."
He said he wanted to lead "a normal life" and get his college degree - something that was "impossible" previously because he had been so "medicated."
Britt said he has detoxed during the past 10 weeks in jail and is now thinking more clearly.
"I did make a lot of mistakes in the past and I want to move on," Britt said.
The sentencings were full of disturbing revelations that began at 10 a.m., when O'Neill announced that just hours earlier, jail guards found 89 pills in Garrett's cell that he had smuggled in.
The list of pills included: 57 tablets of Suboxone, an opioid used to treat opiate dependence; 10 pills of Lexapro, used to treat depression and anxiety; 10 Valiums; one Haldol, used to treat delusions and hallucinations; one Bu-Spar, an anti-anxiety drug and eight unknown pills.
