The jury returned a guilty verdict for Ashley Kroese in the death of City of Brentwood Police Officer Destin Legieza.
The jury found Kroese guilty on all accounts including:
- Vehicular homicide (intoxication)
- Vehicular homicide (0.08 percent alcohol consumption or greater)
- Vehicular homicide (reckless conduct)
- Reckless aggravated assault resulting in death
Sentencing will take place on March 30, 2022.
City of Brentwood Police Department issued the following statement:
Today is a bittersweet day for the members of the Brentwood Police Department. This has been an emotional week for all of us. It is difficult to recount the details of June 18, 2020, and to watch the videos of this tragic incident again. We trust in the criminal justice system and feel that justice has been served. But there are no winners or losers in today’s outcome because nothing will bring Destin Legieza back to us.
Although we take solace in the conclusion of the trial, there will always be a void in our lives without Destin in it.
Please join us in keeping Destin’s family in your thoughts and prayers. His family is our family.
We want to sincerely thank the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Franklin Police Department, the Medical Examiner’s Office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigators, and the District Attorney’s Office for thoroughly investigating and presenting the evidence in this case which resulted in this verdict. We are truly grateful for their collaborative efforts.
Ashley Kroese was accused of killing City of Brentwood Officer Destin Legieza in June 2020 while driving under the influence.
Officer Destin Legieza was killed in the line of duty on June 18, 2020, after being hit by Kroese’s vehicle on Franklin Road in Brentwood around 4:52 a.m in front of Brentwood Market.
Kroese’s vehicle collided with Officer Legieza’s patrol car, trapping him inside. Officer Legieza was heading south on Franklin Road to the Brentwood Service Center on General George Patton Drive at the time of the crash and was about to end his shift. It was found that Kroese had a blood alcohol content of 0.166 percent.
Officer Legieza died at the scene, he was 30 years old. He is the first City of Brentwood Police Officer to die in the line of duty since the department began 50 years ago.
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