‘He was my best friend’: 21-year-old sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison for fatal Cheney-Spokane Road crash

A 21-year-old man was sentenced Friday to 6½ years in prison for killing his best friend in a drunken driving crash two summers ago southwest of Spokane.

Rayce Kent pleaded guilty Friday to vehicular homicide for the rollover wreck that killed 20-year-old Nyckolas Davis on Cheney-Spokane Road.

Minutes after the plea, Spokane County Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno sentenced Kent to 78 months in prison, the low end of the standard sentencing range and the recommended prison term by the prosecution and defense.

“You’ve taken responsibility and that’s a big deal,” Moreno told Kent. “It doesn’t help the family because Nyckolas is gone and you can’t bring him back. I can’t bring him back. No one can bring him back.”

Kent was driving Davis and another friend, who was 17 at the time, the night of Aug. 4, 2021, after the trio drank and swam at Fish Lake Park near Cheney, according to the 17-year-old who was not named in court documents. Kent was driving north on Cheney-Spokane Road at a high rate of speed when he crashed the car near Sherman Road.

Davis died while Kent and the teen, who had “relatively minor injuries,” were taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Kent’s parents told a deputy at the hospital their son has a drinking problem.

Kent said he had about six beers before the crash, documents say. His preliminary breath test at the hospital was 0.118, over the 0.08 legal limit. Kent was later booked into the Spokane County Jail for vehicular homicide.

Kent, who choked back tears at times, was out of custody during Friday’s court proceedings as his family and members of Davis’ family sat in the courtroom pews behind him.

Davis’ sister, Alexis Davis, who turned 18 Friday, battled tears as she read her victim impact statement to the court.

She said she had just gotten one of her first paychecks and was enjoying her day that summer when she was “interrupted by my worst call of my life.” It was her father who said her brother had been hurt and she needed to come home.

She said her dad started crying, which she had never seen him do, when she got home. Then, her father told her the bad news.

“I buried my face into my knees and started crying uncontrollably,” she said.

Alexis Davis said she had many “uncontrollable meltdowns” after her brother’s death. She said her big brother will never get to grow old, have a relationship with his daughter or get to meet his grandchildren.

Meanwhile, Kent sat with his head down during Alexis Davis’ statement.

“He was my best friend,” Kent told the court.

He then apologized, saying he is torn up every day thinking about his dead friend.

“I never meant for this to happen,” Kent said.

Kent’s attorney, Erek Puccio, said his client never considered taking the case to trial.

“There was never a doubt he was going to accept responsibility in this case,” he said.

Puccio said Kent enrolled in an alcohol treatment program shortly after the crash and that he had never seen a client with such strict compliance with treatment as Kent demonstrated. Puccio said Kent was committed to making sure nothing like this would happen again.

“He killed his friend and he’s very remorseful and sorry,” Kent said.

Kent will serve 18 months of community custody when he is released from prison.

As he was led away in handcuffs, at least one of his loved ones said, “Love you, buddy.”