A 26-year-old woman was sentenced to life in prison Monday after pleading guilty to the death of a Fort Worth police officer in 2024.
De Aujalae Evans pled guilty to intoxication manslaughter in the death of 56-year-old Sgt. Billy Randolph, according to a statement from the Tarrant County district attorney’s office. Officials said Evans has to serve 30 years before she’s eligible for parole.
“As this chapter comes to a close, we continue to stand with Sergeant Randolph’s family, his loved ones, and the officers who served alongside him,” the Fort Worth Police Department wrote in a Monday post on X. “His loss is still felt across our department and throughout this community.”
Tarrant County assistant district attorneys Lloyd Whelchel and Brittane Hamilton prosecuted the case, the statement said.
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“There have to be consequences to actions or nothing we do up here matters,” Whelchel said. “Sgt. Billy Randolph died the way he lived — serving you.”
On Aug. 12, 2024, Randolph, who had been an officer for 29 years, was assisting at the scene following a traffic crash involving a tractor-trailer that resulted in a fire on Interstate 35W in south Fort Worth, according to the statement. He was standing on the exit ramp to Sycamore School Road when a vehicle traveling the wrong way struck him.
The other officers at the scene placed Randolph in a patrol car and took him to John Peter Smith Hospital while performing CPR. He later died from blunt-force trauma to the head, the statement said.
Evans continued driving before she left her vehicle and attempted to run away, the statement said.
After police apprehended Evans, they reported smelling alcohol on her breath and observing slurred speech, unsteady balance and watery eyes. Evans told officers she took more than 10 shots of tequila before the crash, according to the statement.
“Her blood alcohol concentration measured 0.12% several hours later — well above the legal limit of 0.08%,” the statement said.
Evans was on probation at the time of the crash: In April 2024, she pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison — in exchange for 72 months of probation, The Dallas Morning News previously reported.
“Sgt. Randolph’s death is a heartbreaking reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers face every day,” District Attorney Phil Sorrells said. “Our office is proud to have helped secure justice for him and his family.”