A divided state appeals panel has upheld a sentence of 27 1/3 years to life for a man convicted of drug possession and reckless endangerment after fleeing from police in a car, finding that the severe sentence was warranted by his five previous felony convictions.
The 2002 car chase shut down Manhattan’s West Side Highway and injured multiple people, most seriously the defendant, Cleveland Lovett, himself. In a final attempt to evade police, he jumped off the side of the highway, falling 60 feet. He is now confined to a wheelchair, with severely limited upper body movement.
