An Arizona DUI attorney would say that it's uncommon for convicted drunk drivers to be imprisoned for life. But last week a Maricopa County Superior Court judge did the unexpected and sentenced 29-year-old Enrique Acosta to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years, plus an additional 7.5 years for the aggravated assault charges, according to the Arizona Republic.
The Arizona Republic reports that the life sentence behind bars came after Mr. Acosta's guilty plea to three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault. Prosecutors said that Mr. Acosta killed three people in an alcohol-related crash back in the summer of 2008 after he ran a red light at 51st Avenue and Camelback Road in Glendale and crashed into another vehicle. Two other victims were also seriously injured from the collision.
Officials say that Mr. Acosta's blood alcohol level was at .156, which is almost twice the Arizona legal limit of .08. The Arizona Republic reports that at the time of the incident, Mr. Acosta was driving on a suspended driver's license from a past DUI conviction and had two previous aggravated-DUI arrests. What's even more astonishing is that both DUI arrests occurred within months of each other in 2003.
ABC News reports that Mr. Acosta had served four years in prison for aggravated drunken driving. He had been released from prison in January 2008. Now, a year and a half after the fatal drunk driving crash, Mr. Acosta will be returning to prison. For more information, please visit our Related Resources.
Related Resources:
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Drunk Driving Sentencing (FindLaw)
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Victims' Rights (LawBrain)
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Arizona DUI Attorney Directory (FindLaw
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