James M. Eschmann, 22, of Columbia, was sentenced before a packed courtroom Friday following a guilty plea to an aggravated DUI charge.

The charge was in connection to a Sept. 13, 2023, ATV crash in the 2600 block of Trout Camp Road in rural Waterloo which resulted in the death of 17-year-old David Browning Jr. of St. Louis.

Monroe County Circuit Court Resident Judge Chris Hitzemann delivered a sentence of six years in an Illinois Department of Corrections. Eschmann will serve 85 percent of this term, and also receives credit for 127 days of time served in Monroe County Jail and at-home electronic monitoring.

As part of the plea, Eschmann pled “guilty but mentally ill” to the aggravated DUI charge, with prosecution agreeing to dismiss the reckless homicide charge and a cap of 10 years of incarceration.

Hitzemann gave a clear rationale for his decision prior to announcing the sentence, later noting the reckless homicide charge would not have added to Eschmann’s length of incarceration had it not been dismissed.

In weighing “aggravating factors” – those for which Illinois state statute prescribes a lengthier imprisonment term – Hitzemann found “the most serious sentence is needed to deter others” from committing a similar offense.

He also described “mitigating factors” which ultimately precluded the maximum 10-year sentence.

Hitzemann declined one such factor submitted by Eschmann’s attorney Justin Kuehn, Eschmann’s blood alcohol content of .12 to .144 and the fact he was underage were taken into consideration.

Hitzemann also explained why possible financial compensation was not a valid mitigating factor in this case.

“I don’t find that a (potential) wrongful death suit or putting a price on the life of the victim is proper here,” Hitzemann said.

While it is not currently a statutory requirement, Hitzemann said letters submitted on behalf of Eschmann to account for his good character were a mitigating factor.

He also cited “excessive hardship to the defendant” as a factor along with the “mental illness” factor due to a report by psychologist Daniel Cuneo.   

“It’s not an easy thing. That’s why I take a little time and additional care,” Hitzemann said, adding the case “weighed heavy on me this week” during what had been “difficult, difficult proceedings.” 

The six-year sentence – which will be just more than 4.5 years in actuality – was handed down following remarks by Kuehn and Monroe County State’s Attorney Ryan Webb.

Kuehn argued for the minimum term of three years while Webb sought the maximum negotiated sentence of 10 years.

Eschmann then made a brief statement, apologizing for his actions and expressing remorse for the anguish he caused the Browning family.

Browning’s niece, significant other and mother then took the stand for what became nearly 40 minutes of impact statements describing how David’s death has affected his loved ones.

Browning’s niece Patricia Ricker was the first to speak.

She described her relationship with her uncle as “like Batman and Robin, whenever you saw one of us you saw the other” due to their closeness in age.

“We were only three months apart in age. He was killed a month and 21 days away from his 18th birthday. It’s hard to believe I’ll be turning 20 years old tomorrow, and I’ll have to continue to grow and age without him,” Ricker said. “We will all keep aging—but he’ll be forever 17.”

She then spoke to how Browning’s death has impacted her. Following the accident, Ricker said she has been diagnosed with severe anxiety, severe depression and post-traumatic stress.

She added that she began failing her college courses and lost her job for taking too many days off – although she has since begun studying forensic toxicology and forensic law to “fight for those who were killed like David was.”

Ricker also referred to her own attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis – the same disorder Kuehn argued as a contributing factor in Eschmann’s actions.

“As a person who has several mental health conditions, I’ve never killed someone. I’ve never decided to act impulsively or decided to act recklessly with another life in my arms,” Ricker said.

She continuing by alleging Eschmann initially lied about the circumstances of the crash.

“Lie about him as he lay there, saying David was driving – pinning a crime on someone else, the one who was dead – thinking maybe the truth won’t come out; shifting the blame on someone who could no longer speak for (himself). This is a deep moral failure,” Ricker said, concluding by asking that “justice to be served for David, for the life that was taken from him, and the future he was denied.’

Next to speak was Mackenzie Chilton, David’s longtime girlfriend.

“There are moments in life that divide everything into a ‘before’ and an ‘after.’ The day David died was one of those moments for me,” Chilton began. “I was 17. He was 17. And from that day on, nothing in my life has felt whole again.”

She continued by expressing grief which has isolated her from many of her peers. 

“While my friends talk about their plans, their relationships, the lives they have ahead, I am left mourning someone who should still be here. I am left carrying memories instead of making new ones. I am reminded constantly of everything David should have become; of everything we should have had together,” Chilton continued. 

She concluded by explaining “there is no moving on from this. There is only learning to carry it. And I carry it every single day. David deserved more time. We deserved more time. The world lost someone truly special when it lost him, and I lost the person who made my world feel full.”

David’s mother Diane Browning concluded the statements with a description of a mother’s grief, harsh words for Eschmann and allegations of mishandled evidence.

She began by saying she was advised to keep her impact statement short.

“Well that’s the worst advice you can give a grieving mother, whose son meant everything to her, who lost her baby boy growing into an amazing young man, who tragically lost his life by the careless act of someone else,” she said. “I could sit here for years and tell you about my David.”

Diane followed with an emotional description of her experience after losing her son.

“Have you ever been so scared, almost like when someone jumps out at you? That’s the feeling of fear you live with when you lose a child,” she began. “It’s an overwhelming feeling, like turning away for a quick second, turning back around, the child’s not there and panic starts. Panic is normal for me now also. Constant. ‘Where is my David?’”

Diane continued by noting all the daily emotional triggers she now experiences along with the inability to concentrate and episodes of screaming and crying to the point she loses her voice.

She then recounted getting a text from David when he arrived in Waterloo and a call following the accident. She said she began to get nervous when David did not check in as he always did, and then getting a call from “an unfamiliar number from Red Bud Illinois, (saying) she couldn’t give much information, just get here quickly.”

Diane said she will experience a “lifetime of trauma” just from seeing David’s lifeless body at the hospital. 

“Then I get a call from you, “she said, addressing Eschmann directly.

“All lies from you: ‘Another car hit you and took off; ‘David was driving; If I could change places with David I would.’ All lies,” she continued. “You have made me into someone my family doesn’t know anymore, unrecognizable, and they will never understand – how unfair this is to all of them as well.”

 Diane then remembered the traits which she found “unique” in her son David, calling him “ambitious and determined.”

She recalled homeschooling David and Ricker, with both of them graduating high school at age 15.

Diane also noted David was the youngest graduate of the American Welding Academy at age 16.

After explaining how David’s many talents and goals will now go unused and unrealized, Diane described the outflowing of sympathy the family has received from David’s neighbors, colleagues and friends, adding his best friend asked permission to name his son, expected in January, in David’s memory.

She read “The Dash Poem,” which speaks about the “dash” on a tombstone between the date of birth and date of death.

“David’s dash was way too short, I could not have been more proud of my son,” she remarked.

Diane then turned her attention back to Eschmann, thanking Webb for seeking the maximum sentence.

“You are a thief. You stole my son’s life,” she said. “You are a very deceitful person. I know there is more to this than we will ever know because we are dealing with liars. We’re dealing with a situation where too much time went by and evidence was tampered with. Something went terribly wrong here, and we will never have the answers or the exact truth to what actually happened that dreadful evening during my son’s last few breaths – I’m sure terrifying. I can only imagine what my poor baby David was thinking.”

Diane also referred to Eschmann’s assertion that he and Browning were best friends.

“You were only an acquaintance of my son David for a short time. You met around November or December 2021, and you killed him with your carelessness,” she said.

“This isn’t something you get used to or you learn to live with. I am devastated. This is my forever and always,” she continued. “To my family and friends, I know I have them, but they don’t have me. When they lost David, they lost me too.”

Following sentencing, Eschmann was remanded to the custody of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department for transfer to an IDOC facility.

Following David’s death, the American Welding Academy in Union, Mo., has established the David Browning Memorial Scholarship.