MONROE — A young man who played what his attorney called the “longtime Wisconsin game of Russian roulette” by driving drunk received an eight-year sentence Monday for the 2016 death of his friend following a rollover crash near Albany.

Brett A. Leutenegger, 23, Oregon, is ordered to spend the first three years of his sentence in prison followed by five years on extended supervision for the Class D felony conviction of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle. He has no prior criminal record.

Green County Judge Thomas Vale said he wanted the sentence to send a message.

“There’s this idea among our young people that you get a second chance,” Vale said, referring to drunken driving. 

Yet every case of homicide by intoxicated driving he’s had in his courtroom has been a first offense of operating while intoxicated, he said, and he wants other young people to be “aware of the danger.”

“If there’s any redemption in this, I hope that the public takes note of this and there’s discussion of this,” Vale said.

To Leutenegger, he said, “Whatever your future holds, you have a future.”

The crash that killed Dylan J. Anderson, 21, Oregon, happened at about 3 a.m. May 25, 2016, after he, Leutenegger and other friends went fishing and drinking off Dunphy Road outside Albany, according to police reports filed with the criminal complaint. They left for home in separate vehicles.

Anderson was a passenger in the 1997 Chevrolet pickup truck Leutenegger was driving. Their friends were ahead of them in another vehicle. Leutenegger was northbound on County E near Attica Road when he lost control on a curve and crashed. He and Anderson were ejected, and the pickup truck ended up on its roof in a ditch. 

When their friends came back to check on them after noticing no headlights behind them, the friends heard Leutenegger and Anderson screaming and found them lying in tall weeds in the ditch. Anderson said he was OK but looked like he was in shock, one of the friends later told police.

But instead of calling for an ambulance, the group of friends, including Leutenegger and Anderson, piled into the other vehicle and continued to Oregon.

By the time Leutenegger arrived home, his abandoned pickup truck had been discovered and reported to authorities. Oregon police officers were waiting for him and cited him for operating while intoxicated.

Medics were also on scene to give Leutenegger first aid. He was transferred to St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, where deputies noted he smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot, glossy eyes. Blood drawn six hours after the crash showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.106 percent, still over the 0.08 limit for driving in Wisconsin.

The group of friends convinced police that Anderson was fine, just sleeping and “very drunk,” but they later decided to drive him to Meriter Hospital in Madison when they couldn’t feel his pulse.

Anderson was given CPR upon arriving at the hospital, then pronounced dead. Autopsy results revealed he died of blunt-force trauma. His obituary noted he was a 2013 Oregon High School graduate, a kind-hearted person who “made friends easily and everywhere he went” with his “contagious smile and a twinkle in his eye.”

Anderson’s life could have been saved had he gotten medical attention earlier, and Leutenegger and the others’ failure to help him sooner or call 911 still angers Anderson’s parents.

“No one told the police Dylan was hurt,” his mother, Dinyel Walrath, said in front of the courtroom at Monday’s sentencing. Leutenegger and his friends instead “lied to numerous witnesses” and “blocked him from medical help.”

She broke down crying. The bailiff brought her a box of tissues.

“He must’ve been in so much pain,” she said.

Anderson’s father, Derek Anderson, was shaking with rage as he stood to speak at the sentencing. He turned the podium so he faced Leutenegger.

“I’m furious at you, beyond what words can describe,” he said, the volume of his voice rising to a scream that filled the courtroom. He got down on the floor to reenact the scene in which Leutenegger and the others “lied to the cops” as their friend died. In his view, drunken driving “happens,” but lying is less forgivable.

“That’s what I’m angry about: You lied,” he said. “You’re a selfish person, Brett.”

According to defense attorney Christopher Van Wagner, Leutenegger has no memory of the accident and has suffered significant physical and mental problems like anxiety and depression since then, culminating in a suicide attempt that required him to be hospitalized for two months earlier this year.

Van Wagner argued that his client would not receive the care he needs in prison, where mental health treatment is limited and few medications are allowed.

A social worker Van Wagner brought in to testify said that, after evaluating Leutenegger over the past 10 months, she would not recommend prison time for him.

“He would not get one-on-one counseling in prison, which he is now,” said Lisa Andreas, a clinical social worker and sentencing consultant based in Madison. “There are certain drugs they just will not give in a prison setting,” including many of the medications Leutenegger is currently taking.

She also said it’s “credible” that he doesn’t remember what happened the night of the accident because trauma can damage short-term memory while not affecting long-term memory.

Van Wagner asked Vale to allow a long sentence of probation for Leutenegger, pointing to Leutenegger’s intensive treatment needs and lack of intent in the crime. He also submitted to the court a packet of 14 letters of a support for Leutenegger, including letters from Leutenegger’s family, hospital chaplain, doctor, neighbors, managers at the grocery store in Oregon where he worked, friends, high school teachers and a woman who identified herself “as his lunch lady and as my son’s friend.”

Intent matters, Van Wagner said. 

“It’s easy to say that when a death ensues, it’s the most serious offense,” he said. 

Ultimately, Leutenegger and Anderson “were both engaged in this longtime Wisconsin game of Russian roulette” with drinking and driving, Van Wagner said.

But Leutenegger was the one who made the choice to get behind the wheel that night, argued District Attorney Craig Nolen.

“I’m certain Brett didn’t set out to kill Dylan that night,” Nolen said, yet the result is “a young man who’s had his life taken away from him.”

Nolen also asserted that Leutenegger is on too much medication, to the point of dependency, and dismissed the defense’s argument that treatment was justification enough to withhold a prison sentence. 

After all, Nolen said, Leutenegger can come back from prison.

“Dylan — he’s not coming back,” Nolen said.

When given the chance to speak, Leutenegger stood up and unfolded the notes he’d been keeping in the breast pocket of his dress shirt. 

He turned back to directly face his dead friend’s parents and apologized. What he’d done was “irresponsible and stupid,” he said.

Earlier, during a recess in the hearing, he had looked over the notes and cried, burying his face in his hands. His mother, father and other family members had comforted him by putting their hands on him and hugging him.