photo by: Eudora Fire Department

Emergency crews responded just after 7 p.m. to a vehicle that crashed into Gambino's Pizza, 1402 Church St., in Eudora on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023.

Updated at 11:08 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 24

A man who drunkenly drove his truck through the front of a Eudora pizza restaurant, severely injuring two teenagers and causing extensive damage to the building, was sentenced to probation Wednesday in Douglas County District Court — but not before Judge Stacey Donovan heard from supporters of the victims and supporters of the defendant on how the crash had turned their lives upside down.

“How did he think it was OK to consume that much alcohol and get in a truck?” asked one of the victim’s mothers in disbelief, describing the night in January 2023 that Richard Craig Nettles, then 46, plowed through the front of the Gambino’s on Church Street, “shoving” teen workers under the pizza oven and covering them with rubble. “No single one of them showed up to work at Gambino’s expecting to be run over by a truck.”

photo by: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

Richard Craig Nettles

The collision resulted in her daughter’s wrists being fractured and her liver and spleen being lacerated, as well as “gashes and bruises” all over her body. The injuries ended the girl’s school wrestling season, she said, and resulted in missed scholarship opportunities among other misfortunes.

Meanwhile, she said, Nettles walked away without injury and started planning a “destination vacation” while her family was keeping watch on their injured daughter’s hemoglobin levels.

Nettles, who had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated battery in the incident, was given a year in prison for each count, which Donovan on Wednesday suspended to 24 months of probation, in line with the parties’ plea agreement, which also required that he write letters of apology to the victims, that he participate in an input panel for victims of DUI, that he undergo alcohol counseling and have an ignition interlock placed on any car that he drives, among other restrictions.

Under state sentencing guidelines, considering Nettles’ lack of a criminal record, Donovan legally had no other option but probation.

While the victim’s mother asked that Nettles show remorse, he himself told the court that he was “deeply sorry to the two victims who were hurt and to the community.” He said that he has had to live with his bad decision and has accepted responsibility for it, noting that he is himself a father and “the fact that I did that to someone else’s child hurts me deeply.”

Two women close to Nettles also spoke on his behalf, his ex-wife and the sister of his current fiancée. Both, sobbing as they spoke, emphasized his 24-year career in the U.S. military and described him as an exemplary father, leader of soldiers and an “honorable man.”

Nettles’ attorney, Hatem Chahine, noted that his client had no previous criminal history.

No restitution was requested in the case, Donovan said, but she did impose fees and costs totaling $513.

She told Nettles that she found his remorse sincere.

To the victims, she offered sympathy and said: “I hope at some point this is a distant memory for you.”

photo by: Eudora Fire Department

Emergency crews work to stabilize the building after a vehicle crashed into Gambino’s Pizza, 1402 Church St., in Eudora on Sunday Jan. 8, 2023.