Des Moines woman who intentionally hit Black, Latina youngsters with her SUV sentenced to 25 years in prison
Philip JoensA woman who told Clive police she intentionally struck a 14-year-old with her SUV because the girl was Latina received a 25-year prison sentence after the girl's father testified that the December 2019 attack had shaken his belief that his family was safe in the United States.
Nicole Poole Franklin, 43, of Des Moines, also received a concurrent 25-year sentence in Polk County Court for intentionally hitting a 12-year-old boy, who is Black, the same day in a rampage police said included yelling racial and ethnic slurs at a gas station employee.
Poole, who pleaded guilty in April to two counts of attempted murder, faces sentencing Aug. 19 on two federal hate crime convictions in connection with the attacks. Under the hate crime statute, she could face a sentence of up to life in prison, though federal prosecutors are recommending 27 years.
Clive police said Poole told them she targeted the girl because she was "Mexican." They said she also told them she had smoked meth hours before the attacks, according to a criminal complaint.
The girl's father, Cesar Miranda, testified in a hearing before the sentencing that he always told his kids they were lucky to live the U.S. and be free. He told Poole that he forgave her, but that the incident was a nightmare for his family. Whenever he crosses the street he wonders if he will be hit by a vehicle, he said.
"My hope disappeared," Miranda said. "My belief that I was free in this country was gone."
He and his daughter said they came to court to let Poole know that they will not give in to hatred.
"I don't hate you because I don't want to feel what you feel to my daughter," Miranda said. "I hope you change because human beings can never live like this."
The girl quoted from the Bible's Book of Matthew and said that the bruises Poole left are still with her.
"I'm sorry my skin color bothered you, but me and my people are never leaving," she said.
Also testifying, Osman Sanford, the father of the injured boy, said he had never had problems with people of other races and that he did not understand Poole's actions. His child became angry and aggressive after the attack, he said.
"I know it's going to affect his life, so I'm just trying to help him," Osman told the court.
More:What we know: Woman admits to hitting teenage girl with car because girl was 'a Mexican'
Why did Poole target the children?
Poole previously said in federal court that she though the boy was of Middle Eastern descent and was in the Islamic State terrorist group. Surveillance video showed Poole's vehicle driving over a curb in the 6000 block of Creston Avenue in Des Moines and striking him, according to a criminal complaint.
Less than half an hour later, Poole struck the girl as she walked on a sidewalk in the 9200 block of Indian Hills Drive in Clive. The girl was hospitalized for two days..
The attacks occurred at 3:54 p.m. and 4:25 p.m. on Dec. 9, 2019. At 5:15 p.m. that day, police were called to a Conoco gas station in the 100 block of First Street in West Des Moines after Poole allegedly began stealing items. Poole called an employee and customers Middle Eastern racial and ethnic slurs and threw items at an employee and customers, according to a criminal complaint.
More:What we know: Woman admits to hitting teenage girl with car because girl was 'a Mexican'
Matthew Sheeley, Poole's state public defender, said Poole suffered from a severe form of schizophrenia. She also had been sexually abused by her adoptive grandfather as a young child and attempted suicide more than once, Sheeley said.
At the time of the attacks, Poole was not taking medication for her mental condition because she was pregnant and was worried about adverse effects on her child, Sheeley said. A few days earlier, Poole had been at a Sheraton hotel in West Des Moines, hallucinating so badly that she said she was there to meet Kim Jong-un, the North Korea dictator, he said.
"The hallucinations only got worse when she started to self-medicate with alcohol, marijuana and meth," Sheeley said.
He said she had fallen under the spell of conservative news outlets that portrayed immigrants as invaders. If Poole had not been in jail, he said, she "would've been in Washington storming the (U.S.) Capitol" during this year's Jan. 6 insurrection.
"In her mind these people were invading our country and taking our homes and jobs," Sheeley said. "She was severely mentally ill, but she was not clinically insane.
"I'm not offering this as an excuse for what she did, but it's a partial explanation," he said.
'This was a heinous crime'
Judge Scott Beattie agreed to accept the terms of a plea agreement made between Poole's attorneys and Polk County Attorney John Sarcone. Under Iowa law she must serve at least 17.5 years of her 25-year term.
Federal prosecutors have recommended she be allowed to serve her federal prison term concurrently with the state one.
Beatie acknowledged the terrible nature of the crime, but also said it was clear that Poole was under delusions at the time.
"This was a heinous crime that had a tremendous impact on two young people," Beattie said. "Nothing that I can do here will fix that."
Philip Joens covers breaking news for The Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-443-3347 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.