Background: News footage of Julie Bush during her sentencing in a Las Vegas, Nev. courtroom (KLAS). Inset: A 2017 mug shot of victim Richard “Rick” Penardo (Clark County Detention Center).
A Nevada woman who fatally ran over her boyfriend after finding tampons in his garbage has been sentenced to prison.
Julie Bush, 31, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and DUI resulting in death in March after initially being charged with open murder and other felonies in connection with the death of Richard “Rick” Penardo, 51. According to court records obtained by local CBS affiliate KLAS, Bush intentionally drove her vehicle into Penardo in May 2024 after finding another woman’s tampons in the trash at his home.
Prosecutors said that the entire violent act was caught on a Ring camera, and that the tampons most likely belonged to Penardo’s roommate.
KLAS was in the courtroom for Bush’s sentencing, where she and the victim’s family spoke to the court before the sentence was handed down.
A tearful Bush told Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny, “I love him very much,” adding, “I’m sorry that he passed away and I wish I could change it, but I can’t, and I know there’s not a sentence in the world that’s going to make anybody satisfied.”
Bush’s public defender also told the court that her appearance on police body camera footage proved that she was remorseful for her actions.
Penardo’s mother, Grace Fisher, told the court that her son “wasn’t perfect. He made plenty of mistakes and poor choices during his life. His biggest mistake was ever getting involved with Julie Bush. She made his life a living hell.”
Penardo had served time for committing unemployment insurance fraud and took an Alford plea in connection with his role in a 2008 murder case.
Bush reportedly told police that before the fateful altercation on the night of May 24, 2024, she found tampons at Penardo’s home that she believed belonged to another woman. After she confronted him about her discovery, court documents reportedly stated that Penardo “retrieved a long, steel chain from the residence and went over to [Bush’s] vehicle. He then started to swing the chain around, breaking the windows of Bush’s vehicle.”
In response, court documents stated that Bush drove after Penardo “in an attempt to hit him.” A second attempt resulted in her hitting another vehicle. On her third attempt, Bush accelerated and intentionally drove into Penardo, sending him into the air and into a brick wall. KLAS reported at the time that Penardo suffered multiple brain bleeds and collapsed lungs after the collision; he succumbed to his injuries the next day.
Police found bags of methamphetamine and fentanyl in Bush’s car, and she had admitted to using fentanyl hours before the fatal confrontation.
Bush was initially charged with open murder, DUI resulting in death, DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm, domestic battery, attempted murder, and drug possession before pleading guilty to DUI resulting in death and the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. She was sentenced to 12-35 years in prison.
