Ex-Bus Driver Jeffrey Allen Brannon appeared before Judge Anita Harold Ashley with Defense Attorney Keisha D. May in case 24-F-20 to enter a plea in the 2023 case Involving the injury of multiple Calhoun County School children in his care.
Prosecuting Attorney Michael Hicks told Judge Ashley that the State was prepared to enter into a plea agreement with Brannon with regard to nineteen felony counts after speaking to the children and parents involved.
When Judge Ashley asked the Defense Attorney if she believed this plea was in the best interest of her client she told the Judge that she had informed Mr. Brannon that even with information they had planned to have suppressed, she still believed it was in his best interest to accept the plea. She and Mr. Brannon had reviewed the discovery, body cam footage, recorded statements, interviews, and paper exhibits. Even with a video statement taken before the defendant was mirandized, she did not believe the suppression of that information would change the outcome of a trial.
With a guilty plea, Jeffrey Allen Brannon faces imprisonment of 2-10 years and a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $3,000 to the charge 3 counts of DUI with Serious Injury and 1-5 years years imprisonment, and a $1,000 to $3,000 fine on 16 counts of Child Neglect causing Serious bodily injury. It will be at the discretion of Judge Ashley as to the amount of years and fine and whether or not the sentence should run concurrent on consecutive. Facing a minimum of 22 years and a maximum of 120 years in jail, Judge Ashely questioned the defendant extensively on his understanding of what he was doing in entering the guilty plea. Brannon stated that he fully understood.
P.A. Michael Hicks, when questioned about the evidence of the State against the defendant simply stated that he would rely on the statements contained in the reports, body cam video, breathalyzer, blood tests and medical records to prove his case.
When asked what he had done to be convicted of the crime, Brannon confessed to the judge that he had gotten on a school bus and drove while drinking. His guilty plea will also prevent Brannon from possession a firearm. The matter was turned over to Probation Officer Angela Purdue for pre-sentence investigation and the defendant will be sentenced on June 12th, 2025 at 9 a.m.
