CO-Illegal imm sentenced,drunk driving killed grandmother
Illegal immigrant sentenced for drunk driving case that killed grandmother
posted by Dan Boniface Kyle Clark 2 hrs ago
DENVER - Courtroom spectators in attendance for unrelated cases were brought to tears as Barbara Barben's family described the devastating loss caused by the driver who was so drunk he was nearly comatose behind the wheel.
Alberto Alvarado-Barojas, who is in the United States illegally, was sentenced to the maximum of 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide. He is expected to be deported to Mexico upon his release.
Alvarado-Barojas had a blood alcohol level of at least .393, about five times the legal limit, when he ran a red light on Hampden Avenue and hit Barben on the morning of September 14, 2009.
Paul A. Barben, Barbara Barben's widower, said there would be no forgiveness.
"My grandchildren have had their grandmother taken from them. My sons had their mother taken from them," Barben said. "And I lost my best friend."
"The vision that I go through daily is knowing that my wife's last moments on Earth were spent in anguish and in the indignity of being ground into the gutter by Mr. Barojas," Barben said.
Christopher Barben, the victim's son, called Alvarado-Barojas "an uninvited guest in my country" who "seems to have a flagrant disregard for the law."
Another one of Barbara Barben's sons told the judge that Alvarado-Barojas is a "thief."
"He stole the soul of my family," Paul Barben said. "He also stole a plethora of memories not yet made, memories that will never be made."
Barojas, through his attorney, asked for a sentence of probation and spoke briefly through an interpreter.
"This was an accident," Alvarado-Barojas said, directing his comments at the Barben family. "I ask for your pardon."
Judge Shelley Gilman said Alvarado-Barojas was not taking responsibility for his actions. She noted that he had the highest blood alcohol level she'd seen in her 12 years on the bench.
A 9Wants To Know investigation reveals a warrant for Alvarado-Barojas' arrest on a previous DUI charge was prematurely dismissed, eliminating an opportunity for authorities to arrest and potentially deport him a year before the crash that killed Barben.
The 18th Judicial District, Colorado's largest by population, including Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln Counties, accidentally purged hundreds of unresolved misdemeanor cases years before they were due to be reviewed for dismissal.
In each case, a suspect had a warrant for failure to appear in court.
Alvarado-Barojas' original case was dismissed and his warrant cancelled along with 1,109 similar cases in 2007.
9Wants To Know has determined one in four of those cases, 285 cases including Alvarado-Barojas', were not eligible for dismissal under rules established by the 18th Judicial District and District Attorney Carol Chambers.
Denver Police recorded contact with Alvarado-Barojas in 2008. DPD spokesman Sonny Jackson said no information exists as to the nature of the contact, only that Alvarado-Barojas' name did not bring up any active warrants and he was not cited or charged with a crime.
http://www.9news.com/rss/article.aspx?storyid=133672
