A Minneapolis woman who killed a teen and injured five others when she drove an SUV into a crowd in the city’s downtown during a fight last summer was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 24 years in prison.

Hennepin County District Judge Hilary Caligiuri sentenced Latalia Anjolie Margalli to 15 years for the hit-and-run death of 16-year-old De’Miaya Broome of Fridley and five consecutive 21-month terms for the others who were injured in the Sept. 14 incident on Fifth Street North at Hennepin Avenue.

“The top of the range sentence of 285 months appropriately reflects the criminality of the conduct,” Caligiuri said.

Last month, Margalli, 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree unintentional murder and five counts of second-degree assault.

Even though Margalli took some level of responsibility by pleading guilty, she has not shown remorse for her crimes, Senior Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Dan Allard said Tuesday in court. In jail calls, Allard told the judge, Margalli said she hopes she becomes famous so she can write a book.

Margalli’s license was suspended at the time of the hit-and-run due to an outstanding ticket in Iowa, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

Crash caught on camera

Margalli was in downtown Minneapolis with her sister and two other women. Just after midnight, her group came across another group of young women. An argument led to a physical fight in the middle of the street between Margalli’s sister and De’Miaya.

Several people, including Margalli, tried to break up the fight but were unsuccessful.

Margalli returned to her SUV, which was parked close by, backed up, cranked the steering wheel to the right and accelerated the wrong way on Fifth Street directly toward the crowd without braking, running over De’Miaya, who was still on the ground fighting, and hitting others.

Margalli did not stop. Officers took her into custody soon after the hit-and-run with help from a witness who followed her.

De’Miaya was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center.

Injuries to the others ranged from bumps and bruises to broken legs and a head injury, according to the criminal complaint. Injured were two 14-year-old girls, a woman, 26, and two men, ages 28 and 24.

Officers recovered multiple surveillance videos that captured the incident.

Sentencing arguments

Prosecutor Allard noted Tuesday in court that Margalli has a history of assault convictions. He read a part of a presentence investigation report he said stated Margalli “appears to lack any ability to regulate and control her anger. This was extraordinarily reckless, brazen and dangerous.”

“That’s exactly what we have here. This is not a normal, unintentional homicide,” he said. “This could have killed significantly more people.”

Margalli’s attorney, Assistant Hennepin County Public Defender Jesse Dong, filed a memorandum in court Tuesday morning arguing that she has a claim of imperfect defense of others. He said that while Margalli’s sister and De’Miaya were fighting, others were kicking the sister in the head and body.

Margalli did not join in on the fight while she was trying to break it up, according to Dong, adding she was hit with mace.

“Ms. Margalli was afraid for the well-being of her sister,” Dong said Tuesday in court, while arguing for a downward departure from state sentencing guidelines.

In arguing against consecutive sentences, Dong said Margalli “did not take multiple actions directed at multiple individuals.” He said consecutive sentences would exaggerate the criminality of Margalli’s conduct.

Earlier, prosecutor Allard noted Dong’s claim that Margalli was attempting to defend others, saying, “This was an attempt to cause harm, and she caused the worst harm she could. She killed a young woman.”

‘My heart will always ache’

De’Miaya was a student at Minnesota Internship Center High School in Minneapolis and aspired to become a nurse, her mother, Andrea Mitchell-Broome, told the court. She loved animals and enjoyed drawing.

“De’Miaya was looking forward to prom and planned to graduate with her friends,” she said.

On the night De’Miaya was killed, she had been at a homecoming game with her friends before going downtown. Her mother said she kept in contact with her through texts and calls, prior to her midnight curfew.

“The smile on her face that evening she left home, I will never forget,” she said. “All she wanted to do was to be a teenager and have fun. The pain that is in my heart is indescribable. My heart will always ache.”

De’Miaya’s father, Juan Broome, broke down in tears when he recalled how as a young child she would bring her pillow and blanket to the couch and join him.

“It’s been hard without my daughter,” he said. “I keep reliving the moments before her death, wishing I could have done something to protect her. I will never understand why this happened, but I know that her life meant something so much more than this senseless act.”

Margalli apologized before hearing her sentence, adding: “I take full responsibility for my actions.”