An Olathe man was sentenced to more than 38 years in prison for second-degree murder after causing a fatal wreck that killed a coworker following a workplace argument in 2021.
On Friday, Ruben Rodriguez, 38, was sentenced in Johnson County District Court to 460 months in prison for causing a crash that killed Dade Smith, 23, of Overland Park.
The almost two-hour sentencing was intense and emotional as several of Smith’s family members directly addressed Rodriguez and his family.
The sentencing was handed down by Judge Christina Dunn Gyllenborg, following a guilty verdict by a jury in July.
Rodriguez caused the crash
On Nov. 18, 2021, at the FedEx Ground Facility in Olathe, where Rodriguez and Smith both worked, the two got into an altercation.
In an interview with a police officer afterward, Rodriguez said he felt like Smith disrespected him, which led to the argument, Assistant District Attorney Kendall Kaut said during the sentencing.
The altercation was strictly verbal, Heath Stuart, Rodriguez’s attorney, added.
“It was never a physical confrontation. There was no evidence that anyone overheard any threats of physical violence,” he said.
Following that, both men were told by a manager that they were suspended with pay and asked to leave.
Rodriguez was the first to leave the facility and drove away. He then came back along 167th Street, heading west while, at the same time, Smith, who was on a motorcycle, was leaving the FedEx facility, driving east on 167th.
Rodriguez then slowed his vehicle and turned left into an entrance for the Bushnell Outdoor Products facility, located next to the FedEx facility on 167th Street, right in front of Smith, causing Smith to slam into the side of Rodriguez’s SUV, according to court records.
The impact killed Smith.
“When asked why he turned into Bushnell — and not FedEx — Rodriguez explained that he needed to go back to collect paperwork for house arrest,” a court document by Kaut stated.
The victim had started to make amends with his family
Before Rodriguez was sentenced by Judge Gyllenborg, four of Smith’s family members shared personal stories, as well as letters written by Smith’s siblings.
All of them detailed a fractured relationship with Smith that had just begun to mend after his son was born. Eric Smith, Dade’s father, said after years of Dade being absent from family functions, he was invited to Thanksgiving dinner.
“He called me to hear my voice confirm the news I had just texted,” he said. “He was extremely happy. I would describe it as being ecstatic. And I loved hearing the happiness in his voice.”
That reunion was cut short, Smith added.
“We finally reached his goal of being a part of our family functions again,” he said. “Then, two days later and one week from Thanksgiving, he was gone. The happiness was gone.”
The family described their grief
Dade Smith’s family shared their pain with both the court as well as Rodriguez and his family, who was seated behind him.
“We will never again have a family dinner, sit down and just talk or give each other a hug,” Shandy Smith, his stepmother, said. “I did not get to tell him all the things I wanted to say. I thought we had more time. We should have had more time. Dade was stolen from us.”
Holding a framed picture of Dade, Maralina Dickerson, Dade’s mother, addressed Rodriguez’s family.
“I am sorry, and I sympathize with your pain because it’s going to continue to be deep,” she said. “There’s not a moment of my life for these past three years I wish we could turn back time and we could have our son, our brother.”
“He could have his child in his arms, and you could have your father in yours,” she added. “But a selfish, irrational, emotional decision by your father took that away. That’s not fair to you.”
Looking Rodriguez in his eyes, Smith’s sister LeeAnna Pierce expressed her anger toward him.
“Next week, I get to be at home with my family, in a nice home that I bought with a family I created and I get to enjoy that time and that peace and love,” she said. “In my mind, I have a little sense of justice knowing that the only thing that you have left will be four concrete walls.”
Rodriguez’s attorney requested a new trial
Stuart, who was hired by Rodriguez after firing his previous attorney following the jury trial, characterized the wreck as a non-malicious accident and asked for a new trial.
“It was just an unfortunate coincidence, a tragic coincidence, that there was this accident following this argument,” he said. “Because, Judge, I would posit that without the argument, the accident may still have happened.”
In his request for a new trial, Stuart focused on evidence that showed Smith was speeding about 26 mph above the speed limit at the time of the crash and his motorcycle lacked rear brakes, making it difficult for him to slow down.
Judge Gyllenborg denied the request for a new trial, noting that the evidence presented was enough to convince a jury that Rodriguez showed an “extreme indifference to human life, which resulted in the death” of Smith.
Rodriguez did not speak during sentencing
When asked by Judge Gyllenborg if he would like to speak before sentencing, Rodriguez declined.
While Rodriguez only spoke quietly to Stuart and occasionally, to his family, Smith’s family noted they interpreted the looks that he gave them, both at his jury trial and during sentencing, as malicious.
“Up to 20-25 minutes ago, he still thought it was a joke,” Dickerson said. “I know these proceedings are recorded. You could go back and clearly see (him) smiling, the threatful stares to myself by Mr. Rodriguez, and it’s continued every time I’m in the courtroom.”
Judge Gyllenborg also noted Rodriguez’s actions.
“It has not been lost on this court, Mr. Rodriguez, some of your facial expressions and the way that you have behaved towards the victim’s family, that have sat on the other side of the courtroom throughout multiple proceedings, that the court shares the same observation,” she said.
Ultimately, she added, she believes he has no remorse for causing the crash.
“The court has yet to see you demonstrate any type of compassion or empathy, and I think probably what is true and real is that you simply don’t feel remorse towards the victim in this case,” she said.
Rodriguez was sentenced to 460 months in prison
Before Judge Gyllenborg handed down the sentence, Stuart asked her to consider the evidence and give Rodriguez a lesser sentence of 416 months.
“When you look at all of the facts that were presented in the case, Judge, it was an accident,” he said.
Detailing her thoughts about the case, as well as Rodriguez’s criminal history, which involves aggravated assault, Judge Gyllenborg handed down the maximum sentence.
“It was a very purposeful and conscientious decision that you made,” she said. “(You) should have chosen to walk away, drive away. But then, as reflected in what the court observed (from) your dash cam video out of your Escalade, you just couldn’t get rid of that feeling and the way that you felt towards the victim that day. And as such, you turned around and you made the fateful decision you did that has affected so many lives.”
Keep reading: Jury finds Olathe man guilty of causing fatal wreck after workplace dispute
