MARIETTA - State Court Judge Russell Carlisle sentenced Powder Springs resident Kecia Whitfield, 44, to 18 months in prison and 30 months probation for supplying alcohol on Jan. 23 to a group of teens - including Garrett Reed, 16, who died later that evening in a car crash.

After four and a half hours of deliberation Wednesday, a jury convicted Whitfield on all five counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor, but acquitted her of reckless conduct.

"We cannot ignore things like this. We have to take some action; we have to point the finger ... today is the time to pay the piper," Carlisle said when sentencing Whitfield, who wiped away tears.

Carlisle called Whitfield's testimony "flippant" and added that she may have a problem with alcohol. He also sentenced Whitfield to 100 hours of community service, which she must serve in the county's Alcohol Drug Awareness Day program, and ordered her to pay a $1,300 fine.

Whitfield purchased a 1.75 liter bottle of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum for her former stepson, Lyndon Winfree, 17, on Jan. 23. Much of the case centered on whether she knew the alcohol was intended for Winfree's friends, including Reed, who was a Harrison High School junior and standout football player. Reed had a blood alcohol content of 0.13 percent that night when he crashed his car head-on into another vehicle on Midway Road.

The state's lead prosecutor, Jason Fincher, said he and the Reed family were satisfied with the sentence and the jury's verdict.

Asked why he requested the maximum sentence of five years in prison for Whitfield, Fincher said, "In our opinion, the conduct in this case was egregious. It cannot be tolerated, furnishing alcohol to a child. We felt that a message needed to be sent to the community that this is not OK and we are going to take it seriously if we find out about it."

Fincher said his eyes were opened by the case.

"We need to get the message out to teens that this is what happens when you drink alcohol and decide you're going to drive a car. We saw what happened to Garrett Reed and we don't want this to happen to another kid," he said. "My message to parents is that it's not OK to allow your kids to drink alcohol even if you're there and present and supervising it. Our message is if you're out there providing alcohol to minors we're going to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law."

Defense attorney John Greco said he thought Carlisle's sentence was intended to make an example of his client. He said the typical sentence he's seen for furnishing alcohol to a minor is 12 months probation and maybe a few days in jail.

"It's obviously a case where there's much interest throughout the county and probably throughout the state for what happened here. And obviously when a death is involved in this type of particular crime, then of course the stakes go up, and therefore I think he was a bit harsh on her," he said. "The question I would pose is, are parents in Cobb County going to be subject to every action their child takes now? Can you buy alcohol and keep it in your house, or are you afraid because if your child takes it and somebody happens to get in trouble some way or be killed, what's going to happen to that parent? It's scary."

Under Georgia law, a parent can provide alcohol to their child if the child remains under their supervision in the house. It only becomes illegal if the child leaves the house.

Whitfield admitted in court Wednesday that she and her estranged husband would let Winfree drink alcohol. Winfree asked her to specifically purchase a "big bottle" of rum Jan. 23.

"We do because we would rather him drink at home because they are all drinking," she said.

Whitfield denied knowing the alcohol was for other teens, saying she brought it home for herself, her family and friends to drink.

"That was fine by me. I drink rum and coke," she said.

But things went awry when the liquor and Winfree went missing after Whitfield went upstairs to check on her baby.

"Yeah, I called him (Winfree) because he took all of my liquor. I called him and he didn't answer his cell and I've been very upset, and now all this has happened," she said.

Asked how she would feel if another adult provided her children with alcohol, she said, "I probably wouldn't like it. But these kids are drinking every day, everywhere, whether we like it or not."

Prior to sentencing, Whitfield told the judge she was sorry for her conduct.

"I've learned a great lesson in this situation. This has really hurt me and it's a big embarrassment. To the Reed family, I feel your pain," she said. "It will never happen again. I'm very sorry."

Whitfield still will have to face drug charges after she was arrested in May when police said they found about four grams of marijuana in her house. She also faces contributing to the delinquency of a minor for that arrest.