Thread: NJ Illegal alien will spend only four years in prison for fatal DUI

Dave Gibson
Immigration Reform Examiner
April 8, 2014

[Judge] Smith expressed doubt that five years in prison was a stiff enough penalty. A second-degree crime, vehicular homicide can bring a maximum of 10 years under New Jersey law. But the five-year sentence had been negotiated in a plea deal with prosecutors, and Smith obliged.

Illegal alien will spend only four years in prison for fatal DUI



On Friday, Gloucester County (NJ) Superior Court Judge Kevin Smith sentenced Rufino Lopez-Cruz, 35, to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of vehicular homicide, after causing an alcohol-fueled crash that killed his roommate.

On March 23, 2013, Lopez-Cruz turned his Ford Explorer in East Greenwich, which resulted in fatal injuries to the passenger, 59-year-old Santos Perez.

At the time of the crash, Lopez-Cruz had a blood-alcohol level of .162, more than twice the legal limit, according to court documents.

The Mexican national has been living illegally in the United States for the last 16 years, speaks only Spanish and required the use of an interpreter throughout his court proceedings.

The South Jersey Times reported:

[Judge] Smith expressed doubt that five years in prison was a stiff enough penalty. A second-degree crime, vehicular homicide can bring a maximum of 10 years under New Jersey law. But the five-year sentence had been negotiated in a plea deal with prosecutors, and Smith obliged.
Lopez-Cruz must serve 85 percent of his prison term — four years and three months — before he’s eligible for parole.

Lopez-Cruz worked at a local farm, despite his illegal status in this country.

http://www.examiner.com/article/ille...alerts_article

By South Jersey Times Letters
on April 10, 2014 at 3:07 AM

To the Editor:

I’m still shaking my head at the slap-on-the-wrist sentence given to Rufino Lopez-Cruz in the DWI death of Santos Perez.

There is something seriously wrong with giving a paltry five year sentence to an illegal immigrant for driving while intoxicated. The driver tested at more than double the legal blood-alcohol limit, flipped the SUV he was driving, and killed one of its four occupants.

As I try to make sense of this senseless act, I’m still trying to understand how an illegal immigrant can even GET a driver’s license. When I got my license, I needed FIVE proofs of identification. I’m just guessing, but I doubt the vehicle was insured or even registered.

Yet, last week there was talk in Trenton of granting illegal immigrants driver’s permission cards. Is that so they would be legal drivers the next time one of them gets drunk and kills someone?

There was a case a few years back where an illegal immigrant was arrested and charged with a sixth DWI, and never had a legal license. Why wasn’t deportation made a part of his sentence?

We are really opening a Pandora’s Box if we hand out driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, especially when they should be deported for being here illegally to begin with. This country continues to reward those who break the law, while placing little to no value on the innocent victims who die along the way.

If someone dies as a result of a DWI, it should be considered murder, and the driver should be tried and punished under that statute.

A five-year sentence for vehicular homicide shows how little respect the judicial system has for the loss of life from driving while intoxicated. The laws need to be made more stringent for those who kill someone while they are under the influence. It’s murder, and the weapon is the vehicle.

Judi Stanish

Deptford Township

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/...ng_letter.html