A 25-year-old man has been spared prison and given a few months in jail for driving drunk near Duluth, crashing and killing two passengers described as among his best friends.
Darren Andrew Tenney, of New Richmond, Wis., was sentenced Wednesday in St. Louis County District Court after he pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash on Sept. 9, 2023, that killed Madison Joy Warren, 23, of Oakdale, and Joseph David Trowbridge, 23, of Woodbury.
The charges said Tenney’s blood alcohol content was measured soon after the crash at 0.117%, nearly 1½ times the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.
Judge Leslie Beiers set aside up to eight years in prison and opted for Tenney to be jailed for four months. Beiers also ordered Tenney to serve five years’ probation and perform 100 hours of community service.
Defense attorney Eric Olson argued for leniency in a court filing ahead of sentencing, pointing out that Tenney had no serious criminal history prior to the crash and has been dedicated to treatment for alcohol abuse since “the deaths of two of his best friends.”
Olson also wrote that the parents of the victims called for no prison time for Tenney.
“[Jason] Trowbridge told the probation officer that he believes the ‘emotional torment [Tenney] feels on a daily basis is more than enough punishment for his actions,’” Olson’s filing read.
The attorney wrote that Warren’s mother, Tina Cermak, made the same point to the probation officer, saying that what Tenney continues to go through “is way worse than any prison sentence he could receive.”
