California Man Sentenced to 24 Years for Running Woman Over in Orchard
Ricky Lasher, 41, received a 24-year prison sentence for the 2023 killing of Amery Sweany, whom he stalked, robbed, and ran over with a truck in a Yuba County orchard.
Yuba County Man Gets 24 Years After Stalking and Killing Woman With Truck
Ricky Singh Lasher, 41, was sentenced Monday to 24 years in California state prison for the 2023 killing of Amery Sweany — a case that began with surveillance footage showing him circling her repeatedly outside a fast food restaurant before running her over in an orchard and driving away, according to Law & Crime.
Yuba County Judge Julia Scrogin imposed the sentence after Lasher pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in Sweany's death and admitted to a separate 2024 felony sexual battery charge. He had initially faced a murder charge. In addition to prison time, Lasher must register as a sex offender for life, and his California driver's license has been permanently suspended.
A Witness Who Read the News
Investigators initially had no suspect. Tire tracks through grass in an orchard and injuries to Sweany's body pointed to a vehicle strike, and an autopsy confirmed she died from blunt force trauma consistent with being run over, the Yuba County District Attorney's Office said in a news release.
The case broke open when a witness — who had read about Sweany's death in the local newspaper, the Appeal-Democrat — came forward with information that led to Lasher's arrest in 2024, roughly a year after she died.
That witness had spent the evening of April 26, 2023 with Sweany in Yuba City. After the two parted at a Jack in the Box in Marysville, in California's northern Central Valley, Sweany moved to a parking area near a Habit Burger and an ampm convenience store.
Circling, Then Theft
Surveillance video captured what prosecutors described as a pattern of escalating contact. "Video showed that Lasher left and returned multiple times seemingly circling Amery, approaching her over and over again," the DA's office stated. "Amery appeared increasingly agitated each time Lasher returned and eventually walked away from him and into the ampm. Lasher picked up Amery's bag — which held everything she owned in this world — put it into the truck, and drove off."
Sweany remained in the area for about 50 minutes before walking down an alley and heading east on 8th Street. Surveillance footage then captured Lasher's truck traveling west on the same street as she walked away. It was the last recorded sighting of Sweany alive, prosecutors said.
Driven to an Orchard
Authorities said Lasher lured Sweany into his truck by offering her drugs — a method he had allegedly used on other women before. He then drove her to a nearby orchard and attempted to sexually assault her, "just as he had done with other women in the past," prosecutors stated.
Sweany resisted. "Evidence shows that Amery fought and ran, leaving a handful of shoe impressions behind in the dirt road in the orchard," prosecutors wrote. "The tire impressions and the tracks through grass suggest that Lasher followed Amery down the dirt road and then suddenly veered off the road, running her over between the rows of trees and leaving her for dead."
Forensic investigators matched shoe impressions and tire tracks along the orchard road to the scene, found tire markings on Sweany's body, and recovered grass and debris from Lasher's rented truck.
Family Accepted the Plea
The Yuba County District Attorney's Office said Sweany's family agreed to the voluntary manslaughter plea rather than risk a jury trial, ensuring Lasher would serve prison time.
Sweany's sister remembered her as "compassionate, strong-willed, nurturing and confident." She thanked the investigators and other women who came forward with information about Lasher, saying she was "deeply grateful" for their courage in exposing what she called a pattern of behavior.
Source: Law & Crime