A woman who went on a crime spree that included the death of a pedestrian near Bells Ferry Road two years ago has been sentenced to prison.
The Cobb District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday that Kristie Renee Nesby, 45, of Fresno, Texas, has been sentenced to 55 years in prison, with 20 to serve and the rest on parole.
She pleaded guilty but mentally ill last week to several felony charges, including killing Luci Turner, 71, who was struck by a car driven by Nesby.
Prosecutors said that incident came at the end what the DA’s office called a “bizarre” string of crimes by Nesby in May 2016.
Nesby, who was to go on trial next week, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to 10 charges, including homicide by vehicle, armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle, hit and run, aggravated assault, and possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Around 5 a.m. on May 11, 2016, they said Nesby robbed the owner of a Smyrna cleaning business, then hit another vehicle while speeding on Interstate 575. Prosecutors said Nesby fled the scene, drove the wrong way on an exit ramp and hit another car.
Shortly after 6 a.m., the DA’s office said Nesby was driving on Cobb Parkway near Bells Ferry Road when her car left the road and went on a sidewalk, hitting Turner, who was walking to her job at a nearby Burger King.
Turner, who had been a teacher and a volunteer at MUST Ministries, died of her injuries at WellStar Kennestone Hospital.
After that incident, prosecutors said Nesby hijacked a car driven by a female motorist on Bells Ferry Road and fled toward Interstate 75. She then hijacked a second car and robbed a woman of her cell phone, according to the DA’s office.
Prosecutors said that while driving to Atlanta Nesby called 911 and said she would take a hostage and kill the hostage and herself if police didn’t chase her with blue lights and stop her.
She crashed into several vehicles in Atlanta and tried to hijack another car before being arrested there, according to prosecutors, who said police found her in possession of two handguns.
Prosecutors said Nesby contended that among other things, a fast food employee put something in a soft drink she had ordered that caused her to hallucinate and commit the crimes.
The Cobb DA’s office enlisted the help of mental health experts who evaluated Nesby, and that prosecutors and Nesby’s attorney asked the court to find her mentally ill.
Cobb Superior Court Judge Stephen Schuster accepted Nesby’s plea before issuing the sentence, the Cobb DA’s office said.
Nesby, who has been in the Cobb County jail since her arrest, will receive credit for time served, according to the Cobb DA’s office, which said she also will receive mental health treatment in prison.
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