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10-21-2008, 08:39 PM #1
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TX: Illegal immigrant pleads guilty in fatal Kingwood DWI
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6070284.html
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Illegal immigrant pleads guilty in fatal Kingwood DWI case
By RENÉE C. LEE Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 21, 2008, 5:03PM
CONROE — A 27-year-old illegal immigrant with multiple DWI convictions pleaded guilty this morning to felony murder charges in the death of a mother and daughter in a car accident more than a year ago.
Ignacio Gomez-Gutierrez, of Houston, through an interpreter, also pleaded guilty to two counts of failure to stop and render aid.
The case being heard in Montgomery County's 9th District Court is the first felony DWI murder case in the county, prosecutors said.
Gomez-Gutierrez is accused of driving with a blood-alcohol content that was three times the legal limit when he plowed into the rear of a car on U.S. 59 near the entrance to Kingwood on March 25, 2007.
The car's occupants, Maria Ortiz, 49, and her daughter Vaness, 18, who was five months pregnant, were killed instantly.
Gomez-Gutierrez fled from his disabled vehicle after the wreck, investigators said.
With Gomez-Gutierrez facing his fourth drunken driving charge, prosecutors elected to upgrade charges to felony murder instead of second-degree felony intoxicated manslaughter.
State law enables prosecutors to pursue the more serious charge because Gomez-Gutierrez caused a death while committing a felony crime.
Gomez-Gutierrez served time for three prior DWI convictions in 2002, 2004 and 2005 but authorities did not deport him to Mexico.
In 2005, Gomez-Gutierrez was stopped for running a stop sign in Harris County. Officers said that he had a strong alcohol odor and failed a field sobriety test.
He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to a year in county jail. He was released in six months, records showed.
A Montgomery County jury will decide Gomez-Gutierrez's punishment in the latest case, or he could agree to a plea deal. Opening statements will resume this afternoon.
Gomez-Gutierrez faces up to 99 years in prison on the murder charges and up to five years in prison or a year in jail on the failure to stop and render aid charges.
renee.lee@chron.com
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10-21-2008, 08:46 PM #2
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Gomez-Gutierrez served time for three prior DWI convictions in 2002, 2004 and 2005 but authorities did not deport him to Mexico .Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)
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10-21-2008, 09:29 PM #3
I'm glad he pleaded guilty but good grief this should never have happened.
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10-21-2008, 11:24 PM #4
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10-23-2008, 02:52 PM #5
Man gets life term in DWI deaths
Immigrant here illegally had three prior convictions of drunken driving
By RENÉE C. LEE Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 22, 2008, 10:37PM
CONROE — A Montgomery County jury sentenced an illegal immigrant to life in prison on Wednesday for drinking and driving and causing an accident that killed a mother and her pregnant daughter.
The jury deliberated for about two hours before coming back with the maximum punishment sought by prosecutors.
Ignacio Gomez-Gutierrez, who had been convicted of three prior DWIs, pleaded guilty Tuesday to intoxicated murder charges and two counts of failure to stop and render aid in the March 25, 2007, accident.
He received two years in prison on each of the failure to stop charges.
Gomez-Gutierrez, of Rosharon, asked for probation when he took the stand on Wednesday in Judge Fred Edwards' 9th Judicial District Court. The defendant said he deserved a chance for rehabilitation.
Defense attorney Charles Moreland said the evidence against his client was overwhelming. Testimony showed the defendant was driving more than 80 mph, and his blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit.
''My hope was by him acknowledging his guilt and by expressing his remorse for the people he killed, there might have been some feeling of leniency," Moreland said.
He said he advised Gomez-Gutierrez, 27, not to ask for probation and believes it probably hurt him.
Prosecutor Sylvia Yarborough said the jury realized it was presented with a strong case.
Making a statement
''I think the jury has said that drinking and driving that ends in a fatality in Montgomery County will no longer be tolerated," Yarborough said.
After drinking four beers, Gomez-Gutierrez got behind the wheel of a truck owned by his uncle and rammed into the rear of a slow-moving Buick on U.S. 59 near the Kingwood entrance, according to testimony. The car's occupants, Maria Ortiz, 49, and her 18-year-old daughter, Vanessa, were on their way to visit relatives when they were hit about 3:40 p.m.
The women, both of Porter, died instantly.
Sylvia Flores, the daughter and sister of the victims, said she was pleased with the verdict. Flores' sister, Margaret Ortiz, said the victims might still be alive if the defendant had been convicted of a felony in 2005. He could have been sentenced to two to 20 years in prison.
Gomez-Gutierrez, a construction worker, had DWI convictions in 2002, 2004 and 2005 in Harris County but served 30 days or less in two cases. He accepted a plea deal in 2005 that reduced the charge to a misdemeanor. He served six months in county jail.
Federal authorities never deported him in any of the cases. Carl Rusnok, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman, said that local law enforcement should notify federal authorities when they arrest someone they suspect is an illegal immigrant.
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10-23-2008, 02:56 PM #6
So sad, if the ILLEGAL had not been in our country three people would be alive today.
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10-23-2008, 03:06 PM #7
Good for that jury. Glad they didn't by the PC compassionate junk.
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