The father of Odaliesa Deleon-Velasco asked a Troup Superior Court judge for justice Tuesday for his daughter, who died July 23, just six days before her fourth birthday.

“I’m asking justice be served,” said DeLeon Martinez, reading a letter on behalf of his family that was translated for the court by an interpreter. “I’m asking that the person who did this, pay for it. He could have avoided it. Only God and him know if it was intentional or an accident. I ask you do to the right thing. I know you understand me, it could have been one of your children. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”

Judge Allen Keeble sentenced Chad Moman, 28, of Jarrell Hogg Road to a total of 12 years in prison and seven years’ probation for Odaliesa’s death. He pleaded guilty to charges of homicide by vehicle and fleeing after he ran over the girl with his Ford F150 pickup truck.

Assistant District Attorney Melissa Himes said Moman went with his cousin to Fairwood Trailer Park, off Whitesville Street, about 8:20 p.m. that day. His cousin went to a trailer to buy crack and soon came back to the truck, saying, “Let’s get the (expletive) out of here,” Himes said.

Moman told investigators he never saw Odaliesa riding her tricycle in the driveway before he backed up at a high speed, running her over and dragging her a short distance. An autopsy report said the toddler died of head trauma, “consistent with being crushed by a vehicle.” The tricycle was broken in three pieces. Martinez told the court Tuesday his two other children, Odaliesa’s siblings, saw the whole thing. The girl died on the way to West Georgia Medical Center.

Himes said Moman, who admitted to having taken methamphetamine that day and cocaine the day before, as well as alcohol, tried to leave the scene three times. Residents of the trailer park had to stop Moman’s truck, eventually reaching in and turning off the vehicle and physically restraining him when he tried to walk away.

Moman’s cousin ran away and hasn’t been heard from, Himes said.

Moman, who was denied bond and has been in jail since the incident, spoke quietly to Keeble and court officials in his black and white prison scrubs and let his attorney, public defender Jeff Shattuck, give a statement for him. Shattuck said his client himself is a father, with a 7-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl. Before the incident, Moman was a day laborer for a construction company.

“He has said many times, if he could bring the child back, he certainly would,” Shattuck said, adding that Moman’s family knew what it was like to lose a child. Moman’s sister died at 14 after a heart transplant.

“I do understand your loss and I’m so sorry this happened,” said Sheila Shelton, who spoke on behalf of her son before his sentencing.

Moman’s aunt Patricia Smith, who works at the Troup County Sheriff’s Department, also spoke to Odaliesa’s family.

“This was a terrible accident,” Smith said. “I know you’re suffering. I don’t know what to say. He is a good-hearted, fine person. There’s no way he did this on purpose.”

Martinez, who came to court with his wife, Odaliesa’s mother, said the incident has affected the family emotionally and physically.

“Our lives have no sense,” he said. “We are dead in our own lives.”

Moman could have been sentenced to up to 20 years by Keeble.

“There’s no formula for how many years one should serve for the life of a child,” Keeble said. “In a real sense, it doesn’t matter. It wouldn’t make anything right. I don’t believe you intended for this to happen. You admit you went there as a party to a crime (to buy drugs). This bears out what happens when you use meth. You have to ask yourself, is that little bit of pleasure worth all this pain. If nothing else, maybe you can spread that message. Good luck to you.”

Jennifer Shrader may be reached at jshrader@ lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 236.