Background: News footage of the scene in Wauwatosa, Wis., after Sunita Balogun was killed in October 2021 (WISN). Inset: Sunita Balogun (Konrad-Behlman Funeral Homes).
A Wisconsin teenager who struck and killed a woman with her own car after she tried to stop him from stealing another vehicle was sentenced to decades in prison.
Jayden Adams, now 16, pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless homicide and taking a vehicle without consent on Wednesday after originally facing several felony charges in connection with the death of 47-year-old Sunita Balogun. Adams, who was 13 years old at the time of the October 2021 crime, admitted to running Balogun over after she attempted to stop him and four other teenagers from stealing another car from a hotel parking lot.
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According to court records, Adams originally faced six felony charges, including first-degree reckless homicide; hit-and-run resulting in death; taking a vehicle without the owner”s consent by use or threat of force; and knowingly operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, causing death.
A criminal complaint, obtained by Law&Crime, included a statement from one of the other teenagers involved in the incident. After he identified Adams in surveillance photos from the hotel, he explained that the group went out that night “with the intent to steal a vehicle.”
While the group of kids was attempting to steal a red Hyundai, they were interrupted by Balogun, who pulled up next to them in her Jeep SUV. She then parked the SUV and got out of her vehicle to confront them again. The teen who provided the statement said that he and another teen left the scene while Adams and two other teens stayed behind to argue with Balogun.
One of the other teens punched Balogun in the face, then Adams got into the driver’s seat of her SUV and “kicked the door into the victim’s face,” seemingly after Balogun ended up on the ground. Adams then ran over her head.
Several of the teens got back into the car with Adams, who then fled the scene. When asked by his friends, “What did you do?” Adams responded that he “killed that lady.”
According to the criminal complaint, another teenager told police that she yelled at Adams, “Jayden, you runned [sic] her over, there’s blood gushing out of her head.” Another teenager admitted to police that they never checked on Balogun, who had been pronounced dead at the scene.
Balogun’s Jeep was recovered the next day.
Adams, who was tried as an adult, was sentenced to 15 years in prison plus 10 years of extended supervision with credit for time served.
