Following an emotional plea for justice by the father of the victim in a 2011 vehicular homicide case, a Villa Rica man was sentenced Tuesday to a term of 15 years.

Joshua Allen Garrison, 26, entered a guilty plea in a Douglas County courtroom to charges of first degree vehicular homicide and possession of marijuana resulting from the Feb. 20, 2011, death of Courtney Shipp.

Shipp, 25, was a phlebotomy student at West Georgia Tech and a Villa Rica resident who was Garrison’s girlfriend. She was riding as a passenger in his 1997 BMW that night. She was fatally injured when the intoxicated Garrison lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree on Berea Road near Mason Creek Road in the Bill Arp community following a night of drinking and bar-hopping, according to police reports at the time.

Georgia State Patrol Sgt. J.A. Warren said Shipp died after Garrison drove off the road, over-corrected, crossed the center line and hit a tree on the right passenger side. Warren said Shipp was wearing a seat belt at the time of the wreck.

At the sentencing hearing, Douglas County Assistant District Attorney Tom Kegley laid out the facts for Judge David T. Emerson and described how Garrison and friends had been drinking at a bar in Douglasville and then left to go to a second club on Fulton Industrial Boulevard. After several hours of drinking, Garrison returned to Douglasville and picked up the victim at a relative’s house and left, supposedly to take her home. A short time later Garrison’s vehicle was found nearly demolished with the victim fatally injured in the passenger seat.

During the sentencing hearing, Joel Shipp, the father of the victim, stood before the courtroom and asked for justice for his daughter.

“My daughter will not have a second chance,” Joel Shipp said. “She will not get to graduate from West Georgia. She will never get to see her young child go to his prom. She will never get to see anything again. He will have a second chance, but she won’t. Neither will our family because we are all utterly and completely devastated. That’s all I can tell you. This has just been a nightmare.”

Douglas County District Attorney David McDade said the sentence should send a message about the consequences of drinking and driving.

“Drunk driving and drunk drivers cause so much pain and suffering for their victims, the families of victims and the loved ones of victims like the Shipp family,” said McDade. “Their suffering has been indescribable and will last forever. Mr. Garrison made the decision that night to drink and drive without regard for anyone else. He now is paying for his crime. Nothing, however, will ever bring the victim back to her family, and for that we are all heartbroken. This sentence should send a clear message.”

“This has been a tragedy and sadly nothing will bring Courtney Shipp back to her family and friends, but we can work to bring justice to Courtney and those who love her,” Kegley said. “This office will also continue to seek harsh punishment for those who take a life while driving intoxicated. Those who drink and drive put the entire community at risk with their actions.”