Thread: AL: Felony charge in fatal crash is thrown out

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/ ... xml&coll=1

Felony charge in fatal crash is thrown out
Saturday, January 20, 2007

Illegal immigrant awaits deportation;4 killed in collision

A state appeals court has struck down a felony conviction against an illegal immigrant who caused a wreck that killed four people and injured a fifth victim in 2005.

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals ruled in December that the jury that convicted Rufo Martinez on a felony assault and four misdemeanor charges of criminally negligent homicide had returned inconsistent verdicts.

The Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the misdemeanor charges but struck down the felony charge. The court instructed the trial judge to reduce the felony conviction to a misdemeanor.

Jerelene Jackson, mother of one the victims, said her family has been outraged by the entire process.

"I'm furious," she said. "They did this and nobody notified us."

Martinez was released from state prison in October, said his attorney, Ron Smith. He was then delivered into the custody of federal immigration authorities for deportation as a foreign national convicted as an aggravated felon.

Smith said Martinez is now in a federal holding facility in Louisiana. Though he's no longer a convicted felon, the federal government can still deport Martinez because he's in the country illegally, Smith said.

Martinez, 22, ran a stop sign on May 27, 2005, at Research Park Boulevard and Plummer Road and slammed into another car. Police said his only ID was an identification card from Mexico.

Lisa Nadine Cartwright, 41; her daughter, Pamela Cartwright, 20; Pamela Cartwright's 18-month-old son, Sa-myrin; and Pamela Cartwright's friend Eria Jackson, 20, were killed instantly.

Jaleesa Cartwright, who was 15, a passenger in her aunt's car, spent three weeks in the hospital recovering.

When the trial started before a jury last April, Martinez faced a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison on five felony charges - four felony counts of vehicular homicide and one felony count of first-degree assault.

Prosecutors said Martinez was in violation of state law and was acting with extreme indifference to human life when he caused the wreck.

Smith told the jury that his client was not a criminal. The poor design of the road at the intersection prevented Martinez from seeing the stop sign and the family's approaching car, he said.

The jury convicted Martinez on the felony assault charge and four misdemeanor charges of criminally negligent homicide.

In his pleadings for a new trial and the appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Smith argued that the jury had returned an inconsistent verdict.

In finding Martinez guilty of criminally negligent homicide, the jury found that he was unaware of the risk that he should have been aware of, Smith argued. But in its verdict on the felony assault charge, the jury said that Martinez was aware of the risk and disregarded it, Smith said.

"Martinez could not have been unaware of the risk and aware of the risk at the same time," he said.

The panel of appeals court judges agreed with Smith.

And he will be back in the country before you can say buh-bye.

Originally Posted by JadedBaztard

And he will be back in the country before you can say buh-bye.

Sure he will. Wonder how many he'll kill next time.