He was a father, husband, son and avid biker, but in June 2008, Kenneth Brandon Bain admitted to partying late into the night at a bachelor party, drinking and smoking pot.
He got behind the wheel of a sport utility vehicle, hitting and killing Michael Alfaro and Meredith Hatch as they were cycling near Joe Pool Lake.
How do we ever get over it? How do we go on? asked Joyce Cates, Alfaro's mother. She has fought her grief with strength until now.
I took care of people and took care of people until I couldn't do it any more, she said.
For Cates, the anger has set in.
Bain was recently sentenced for killing Alfaro and Hatch. Dallas County Criminal District Court No. 3 Judge Gracie Lewis decided his crime was worth two years behind bars and 10 years' probation.
It was devastating, Cates said. It was like being hit in the gut.
Bain will have to spend eight days in jail on each victim's birthday for eight years after he is released from prison.
This unique punishment has been used by at least one other Dallas County judge. But in that case, a jury decided the sentence, meaning the judge could only beef up probation.
In the case of Alfaro and Hatch, Lewis made the decision on her own, without a jury.
Two years for two lives. It is a sentence Judge Lewis declined to talk about.
It's saying, 'It s okay to drink and drive. There are not huge consequences for doing it,' said Christi Roberts, an advocate for Irving-based Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Roberts said she has seen hundreds of cases come and go, but this one is different.
I was flabbergasted, I really was, she said. I seriously could not believe that the price they put on two lives is two years.
Bain did apologize in court for his actions. I am sorry; I made a mistake. It was a stupid mistake, and I apologize once again, he said.
But Cates says that's not enough for her to forgive him.
I'll find peace in the memories of Mike, but not by forgiving him, Cates said.
E-mail sslater@wfaa.com
