KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A community activist was out of jail Wednesday, one day after the Wyandotte County district attorney upgraded the charges against her.
Tamika Pledger is now charged with involuntary manslaughter. Police say Pledger hit four teens with her car last week. Tierra Smith, 17, died on Friday, February 6.
In addition to the manslaughter charge, a judge barred Pledger from having any contact with the victims’ families or witnesses in the case.
One of the reasons behind that decision is because of a phone call Pledger made from jail to a friend. In it, prosecutors say Pledger outlined a plan to pressure witnesses to change their stories:
“I need all the families to come together and say ‘I’m the mother of the child, I’m the uncle of the child,’ whatever. ‘We know it was an accident, we know who was responsible and we need her out,’” said Pledger in an excerpt from the phone call recording.
The prosecuting attorney says she’s been in touch with all of the families involved in the case, and none of the parents want to have contact with Pledger. Click here for the official (redacted) affidavit for arrest document filed by the KCK Police Dept.
Listen or read the full recording of the excerpt below: