‘It was murder’: Man gets 12 years for traffic death following marijuana argument

It started with an accusation of stolen marijuana that led to a car chase at speeds of more than 100 mph and a crash that left an 18-year-old woman dead.

On Thursday, it ended with a 12-year prison sentence for Donald Joseph Friese, 31, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for causing the death of Mercedes Ferrarie-Troisi, 18.

“I feel remorse and I apologize for the chain of events that ended with the death of your daughter,” Friese told Lisa Ferrarie-Darron, who was in the courtroom.

The events began on April 29, 2013, at about 4:25 a.m. There was a fight over the 18-year-old’s stolen marijuana at the home of her friend, Brandy Hayes, on Yale Avenue in Collinsville. Hayes and Ferrarie-Troisi and others went to a State Park business to confront Freise, according to police. At some point, the windows of Friese’s GMC Denali were broken out with a baseball bat.

Friese drove away from the gas station with Hayes’ green Buick LeSabre following. The two cars drove at speeds of up to 106 mph on Collinsville Road. At some point, Friese rammed into the LeSabre, causing both cars to flip. The cars overturned in the 4900 block of Collinsville Road. Ferrarie-Troisi was ejected, then Hayes’ Buick rolled over her.

Friese was on home confinement on a federal narcotics charge when the crash happened. He faces an additional five years for violating his supervised release on the federal charges.

“I’ve been told that to move on, I have to forgive you, Donald Friese,” Ferrarie-Darron said during her testimony. “That, I will never be able to do.”

Ferrarie-Darron told St. Clair County Judge Randy Kelley that her family was forever altered by the death of her only daughter. She told him that Ferrarrie-Troisi was cremated on her 19^th birthday.

Lloyd Cueto, Friese’s attorney, asked Kelley to sentence Friese to four years on the murder charge, saying there was evidence that he had been provoked and never intended to cause Farrarie-Troisi’s death.

Assistant State’s Attorney Deb Phillips asked Kelley for a 20 year prison sentence.

“It was not a traffic crash. It was not an accident. It was a murder,” Phillips said.

Phillips pointed to Friese’s five previous felony convictions. She also told the judge that Friese had passengers in his car — his mother, Gloria Francis, and his girlfriend, Gina Torres — when the “Road Warrior” scene played out on Collinsville Road that night.

Cueto responded by telling Kelley that none of the felonies were crimes of violence. He also told the judge that after the crash, Friese physically pulled Torres and Francis from the car.

Kelley said the crash was the result of “vigilante justice” and “wild west activity.”

“No one seemed to provide a voice of reason that evening,” Kelley said.

The hearing Thursday ended a 33-month saga. Friese was on trial last year on first-degree murder charges, but Judge Zina Cruse, the judge who presided over case, ordered a new trial. Cruse found that the actions of Ferrarie-Troisi’s friends and family, including her mother, may have prejudiced the jury. Friese pleaded guilty to second-degree murder earlier this month.

In addition to the 12-year second-degree murder sentence, Friese also was sentenced to four years for having contraband in the jail. Prosecutors said corrections officers found a razor blade in Friese’s shoe.

Friese is the father of four. Torres has four children.

Kelley noted the incarceration would cause hardships for Friese, who provides care for his children, Torres’ children, his parents and Torres’ father, who is disabled.

“Unfortunately, it’s a price you are going to have to pay,” Kelley said.

This story was originally published July 28, 2016 at 1:26 PM with the headline "‘It was murder’: Man gets 12 years for traffic death following marijuana argument."