Thread: NC: Illegal immigrant sentenced to 13 years

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/15857352.htm

Posted on Thu, Oct. 26, 2006 7:45 pm

Illegal immigrant sentenced to 13 years
GARY L. WRIGHT
gwright@charlotteobserver.com

Jorge Hernandez Soto, an illegal immigrant accused of driving drunk the wrong way on Interstate 485 and killing an 18-year-old UNC Charlotte freshman, was sentenced Thursday to at least 13 years and four months in prison.

Hernandez Soto, his wrists and legs in shackles, apologized to the family of his victim, Min Chang, after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and driving while impaired.

"I'm sorry," Hernandez Soto, speaking through an interpreter, said. "It was an accident. I never tried to kill anybody. And I ask for the family's forgiveness."

Mecklenburg Assistant District Attorney Jay Ashendorf told the judge that Hernandez Soto was driving a Ford Expedition at speeds of over 100 mph the wrong way on I-485. He struck Chang's Nissan 350Z head on, the prosecutor said. Chang died in the November 2005 fiery crash just north of Rocky River Road in northeast Charlotte.

Ashendorf said a blood test showed that Hernandez Soto's alcohol level was .24 percent -- three times the limit. It's against the law in North Carolina to drive with an alcohol level of .08 percent or more.

Chang was among six people who died in wrong-way driving wrecks on Charlotte-area interstates in less than four months in late 2005 and early 2006. All the wrecks involved suspects who were believed to have been drinking.

Chang's death also came just months after an illegal immigrant with five previous DWI charges killed a Mount Holly teacher in Brunswick County in July 2005, prompting legislators to propose tougher immigration laws.

Ramiro Gallegos had a alcohol level of 0.22 percent -- nearly three times the legal limit -- when his truck struck Scott Gardner's station wagon while he and his wife were taking their two young children on a family vacation to Sunset Beach. He is serving a sentence of 14 to 18 years.

During Thursday's hearing, Ashendorf told the judge that Hernandez Soto admitted being in the country illegally and drinking beer before the fatal wreck.

Hernandez Soto had a prior DWI conviction in Tennessee and prior arrests for DWI in Colorado, Kansas and in Wilkes County, Ashendorf said.

Chang's father and mother, brother and cousin were in the courtroom for Thursday's sentencing. They did not address the judge.

Charlotte attorney Jeff Long, speaking for the family, told Mecklenburg Superior Court Judge Bob Bell that Chang's family has been devastated by the death and grieves every day.

"They're suffering every parents' nightmare," Long said. "They buried an 18-year-old son and brother."

Hernandez Soto entered the country 17 times between 1996 and 2000, according to Salvador Zamora, spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol. Hernandez Soto crossed from Douglas, Ariz., at least eight times, but was caught and sent back to Mexico repeatedly, Zamora said.

Authorities didn't know at the time of the fatal wreck when Hernandez Soto last crossed the border or how long he'd been in the United States. He was last deported in August 2000.

Trooper Brian Huffstickler said Hernandez Soto told the Highway Patrol he'd been working as a vegetable processor in South Carolina. He also told them he didn't remember anything about the wreck.

Hernandez Soto told the Observer that he had been living in Florence County, S.C., about 130 miles southeast of Charlotte. He said he came to Charlotte to pick up the SUV for a friend and had six beers before the crash. He also expressed remorse about Chang's death.

Jeff Jordan, who heads U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in North Carolina, said Thursday that Hernandez Soto will be deported after he serves his prison time.

"He'll be removed, rest assured, when he completes his sentence," Jordan said. "He won't be allowed to return to the community."

Only 13 years?

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Too bad he wasn't deported BEFORE he had a chance to take a life. How many more people need to die at the hands of people who should not be here in the first place? And why don't we see their stories all over the media? It's always sob stories about the illegals.

"He'll be removed, rest assured, when he completes his sentence," Jordan said. "He won't be allowed to return to the community."

Oh yea, Jeffie? And just how are you going to accomplish this task when the bastard has entered ILLEGALLY 17 times!!! Count them.......SEVENTEEN TIMES.

And at least 4 DUIs

Are these people freakin nuts? 13 Years for killing a young man after 4 DUIs?