BAY MINETTE, Ala. — A Spanish Fort man was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the deaths of Archie Clemons, Jr., 46, of Spanish Fort, and William Frederick Imle, 48, of Daphne in September 2007.

Patrick Blake Young Ballard, 20, of Spanish Fort was sentenced to a 20-year term for each charge of manslaughter to be served consecutively after the widows of both men tearfully took the stand.

“He was a good person, and his death could have been prevented,” Dana Clemons told the court. “I will never forget the sounds of (my children’s) screams when I told them their father had been killed. I hear them everyday.”

Clemons said one of the main reasons she agreed to the plea bargain was to prevent her children from having to endure a lengthy-trial and the publicity surrounding the trial.

“What he took away will never be replaced,” Susan Imle said. “One day I hope he asks God for forgiveness and is remorseful.”

Imle said she did not want Ballard to have the chance to hurt others families the way he hurt theirs.

Ballard, then 19, was speeding down Bromley Road when he fatally struck the cyclists on the morning of Sept. 3, 2007. 

“In a 45-mile-per-hour zone, in a residential area, in an area with curves in the road, he had been up all night and drinking,” District Attorney Judy Newcomb said. “He was driving 83 miles per hour when he left the road, tried to correct leaving the road, careened his truck into the opposite lane  and struck and killed both Art Clemons and Bill Imle,” Newcomb said.

In the opening minutes of the hearing, Newcomb said the state and Ballard’s attorney, James Byrd, had reached a plea agreement Wednesday afternoon downgrading the charges from murder to manslaughter with the maximum senteance of 20 years for each charge.

Newcomb also revealed to the court she had learned in August 2007, Ballard pleaded guilty to reckless driving in Bay Minette Municipal Court. Bryd said the information was faxed to him Thursday morning. 

“He pled within a week (of the cycling deaths) to reckless driving,” Newcomb said.

Newcomb said she met met with the family and law enforcement and believed the sentence would provide protection for the community, justice for the victims and save the families of both from a trial.”

The issue argued in court was whether the 20-year terms should be served consecutively or concurrently.

The defense argued it would be unconstitutional for Ballard to serve the terms consecutively, but Newcomb cited case law and a 1987 Alabama Supreme Court ruling stating consecutive sentences could be mandated by the court in circumstances where one action resulted in multiple victims.

“He was given a chance at rehabilitation and a chance to change his conduct,” Newcomb said noting the similarities between the deaths of Clemons and Imle and the June 2005 death of Larry McDuff.

Ballard was charged with manslaughter in the death of McDuff, a Fairhope man who was struck and killed by a speeding vehicle while riding his bike around 8:30 a.m., but pleaded down to felony leaving the scene of an accident. 

Ballard, who was 17 at the time, was behind the wheel of a Jeep after a night of drinking and drug use, Newcomb said.

“The McDuff family graciously and rightfully so gave him a second chance,” Dana Clemons said. “But, he did not take the opporunity to turn his life around.”

Clemons said he had killed three people with the same destructive behavior.

“He was given a second chance, and many in this room regret he was given a second chance,” Newcomb said of Ballard. “It is almost eerie the similarities between the two cases.”

When Partin asked if he would like to make any pre-sentencing remarks, Ballard, who showed little emotion through the hearing, replied with just two words, “No, sir.”

In addition to the two consecutive 20-year prison terms, Ballard was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $53,817 to the families, a $2,000 fine for each case, court costs and $250 to the Alabama Crime Victims Fund.

Ballard waived his right to an appeal.