An Augusta mother of five who rammed a vehicle containing her ex and his new love interest while her baby was in her vehicle was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday, Aug. 9. The baby was not in a car seat.
Mercedes L. Lovett, 31, pleaded guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to two counts of aggravated assault and cruelty to children in first degree. Judge Ashley Wright imposed the prison term with an additional 10 years on probation to follow. She granted the request to impose the sentence under the First Offender Act.
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Lovett was charged after the June 20, 2020, vehicle crash. Assistant District Attorney William Hammond said Tuesday that Lovett had called the woman for whom the father of her children left her and made threats. She threatened to shoot her rival’s children and to ram her car into the woman’s house if she didn’t return home immediately, Hammond said. When the victims returned, Lovett used her vehicle to ram their vehicle while her 3-month-old baby was in the vehicle, Hammond said.
Defense attorney Kara Stangl said Lovett had grown up in domestic violence and had a family history of mental illness. Lovett said she has recently been diagnosed and is now medicated and feeling much better. Lovett had a new job and home, she said. “I know I failed as a mother, but I’ve worked every day since to make it up to them.”
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
