By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – A Columbiana man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted first-degree rape on May 29.

Daryl Dewayne Pickett, 36, was arrested on Feb. 25, 2014, following an investigation by the Columbiana Police Department.

At the time of the arrest, Columbiana Police Chief Lamar Vick said a woman jogging near Bolton Funeral Home on Shelby County 47 in Columbiana at about 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24 was allegedly approached by a black male, who grabbed her and dragged her down on the ground.

Vick said a passerby saw something going on, turned around and witnessed the black male struggling with the woman, then get up and run away, leaving the scene in a white vehicle.

Police tracked down the vehicle that led them to Pickett with information from the passerby and the victim.

Attempted first-degree rape is a Class B felony. Pickett was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with 459 days of jail credit to be deducted from the sentence.

As part of his sentence, Pickett must avoid initiating contact with the victim and the victim’s family, undergo random drug and alcohol screenings and register with the state as a sex offender after he is released from prison.