Thread: 30-year sentence slashed for fatal hit-and-run driver in Tampa

30-year sentence slashed for fatal hit-and-run driver in Tampa

• By Rachel Crosby, Times Staff Writer

Thursday, April 9, 2015 1:37pm
TAMPA — Anger, heartbreak and an inexperienced lawyer helped land Armando Lopez-Canada in prison for 30 years for fleeing a fatal hit-and-run that left two people dead.

But forgiveness knocked 20 years off his sentence on Thursday and helped two grandparents get closure in a Hillsborough County courtroom.

"While his actions profoundly changed our family, I do believe that Mr. Canada was given a harsh sentence," said a tearful Brenda Andujar, whose 4-year-old grandson, Joshua Angel Morrow, died three days after Christmas in 2006.
"And I'd like to tell Mr. Canada that I do forgive him."

Lopez-Canada, an illegal immigrant, drove away after he struck and killed the little boy and Ronald Bishop Jr., 42, as they tried to cross the Courtney Campbell Causeway at twilight outside of a crosswalk. Lopez-Canada wasn't impaired, speeding or driving recklessly. He told police he fled because he feared deportation.

"What could have been a horrible accident turned into a criminal offense," the boy's grandfather, Angel Andujar, said Thursday.

Lopez-Canada's three-decade sentence drew attention to the wide disparity in punishment in hit-and-run cases. A Tampa Bay Times report on a sampling of local hit-and-run cases showed habitual felony offenders sometimes received less prison time than a person charged with a first offense. The judges and lawyers involved —- as well as the wishes of the victims' families — all were factors.

Had he stayed, Lopez-Canada would have been charged with driving with an expired license.

His original lawyer, Richard Joyner, only had four years of experience when he handled the case. Two years later, he was disbarred for depositing a client's $50,000 personal-injury settlement into his own trust fund without her knowledge.

Both Joyner and the case's key witness, Jim Weber, who helped police track Lopez-Canada after the crash, said 30 years was excessive.

"I thought it was really, really severe," Weber previously told the Times.

The year the accident happened, Florida lawmakers increased the charge of fleeing a fatal crash from a second-degree to first-degree felony, and the maximum sentence jumped from 15 to 30 years.

"He received the absolute maximum," prosecutor Joan Corces said in court Thursday. She said Bishop's mother and brother spoke to the State Attorney's Office and "expressed a hopefulness we could reach a resolution."

Joshua would have been 13 last Friday. The little boy was on the way back to Pinellas County from North Tampa with Bishop, a friend of his grandfather, when Bishop's truck broke down near Rocky Point. He parked, called for help and crossed the causeway with the boy to grab him a drink.

As the two returned to the truck, Lopez-Canada was headed through a green light and hit them.

Thursday, the boy's grandmother told Hillsborough Circuit Judge Michelle Sisco that 30 years was too much.

His new sentence is 10 years, including the time he has already served, followed by 10 years of probation. Lopez-Canada's current lawyer, Bryant Camareno, said after prison he will likely be deported — a condition his client understood. He is never allowed to drive again.

Speaking in Spanish, Joshua's grandfather told Lopez-Canada he had mercy, and wondered if he ever thought about what he did.

Lopez-Canada said yes.
"The truth is, I've felt a lot of pain, and I can imagine your pain that you have felt all these years," Lopez-Canada said though an interpreter. "I thank you for giving me this opportunity."
The boy's grandmother told the defendant, "I wish nothing but the best for you. I do mean that."
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/...-tampa/2224834

10 years Probation? Why not deportation?