Plea and sentence in the death case of two infants

A mother admitted her guilt today in the deaths of her two infant children, and she was sentenced in the Oconee General Sessions Court. A court officer said Melissa Cassandra Patton pleaded guilty to two charges of felony driving under the influence in the deaths New Year’s Day of Patton’s children: one-year old Taniya Gambrell and four-year old Sariya Dean. The children lost their lives in an accident on the Wells Highway near Seneca. The defendant’s attorney, Delane Rosemond, said his client apologized and, after hearing the fathers say they didn’t want the mother to be sent to prison, Judge Alison Renee Lee ordered a sentence of five years in prison, suspended to one year, along with other conditions, including 500 hours public service. Patton was placed on probation for five years. She must also serve three years house arrest.