The Arizona Republic reports that 33-year-old Manuel Contreras-Galdean was sentenced on Friday to 14 years in prison and 4 years of probation for his drunk driving collision that killed Kelly Tracy, a 16-year-old girl from Mesa. The girl's brother Matthew Tracy, who was driving the vehicle, was also injured after the incident. This was the maximum sentence allowed under the terms of this plea agreement.
The man signed an agreement last year in which he pleaded guilty to one count each of manslaughter and aggravated assault. The Examiner states that at one point Mr. Contreras-Galdean actually tried to back out of the plea deal after getting a new Arizona DUI attorney. He claims that his old attorney had pressured him into accepting the plea, but his request to back out of the plea was rejected.
It was reported that Mr. Contreras-Galdean had a blood-alcohol level of .19 percent after the fatal crash, which is over 2 and a half times the legal limit. The Arizona Republic also reports that Mr. Contreras-Galdean was under the influence of cocaine at the time of the incident. Kelly Tracy's family sent dozens of letters to Judge Richard Trujillo encouraging him to give the defendant the maximum sentence.
But what really did it for Judge Trujillo is the fact that Mr. Contreras-Galdean already had 2 prior DUI convictions before he was involved in the crash that killed Kelly Tracy. One of which was out of state in Utah and the other in Tempe. This led the judge to believe that the defendant did not learn his lesson from the other two incidents.
"I listened to you this morning; I continue to hear excuses," the judge told Arizona Republic. "The aggravating factor the court finds reprehensible . . . is the fact that you had a DUI in 2001, a DUI in 2007."
Related Resources:
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DUI - Sentencing (FindLaw)
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Felony Drunk Driving (FindLaw)
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Contact a Phoenix DUI Attorney (FindLaw)
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