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Torres-Vasquez Sentenced to 18 Years, Deportation for Fourth DUI

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 15:31

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(Before It's News)

Vicente Torres-Vasquez, the man with three prior DUI convictions who reportedly got blackout drunk and caused a fatal crash, was sentenced to 18 years in prison this week. He will also face deportation (again) after he completes his sentence, reports the Daily Herald.

Torres-Vasquez admits he consumed more than 15 beers and a bottle of tequila before hitting the road July 24, 2011. He blacked out in his SUV and crashed into a car and a motorcycle, killing 55-year-old Gregory Homola. Two women in the car were also injured; one still suffers partial leg paralysis and speech issues. When police arrived, they found bottles of liquor and empty beer cans in Torres-Vasquez’s car.

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Torres-Vasquez had faced a maximum of 26 years in prison for two counts of aggravated DUI, though it was unclear whether those sentences would be served concurrently or consecutively. Often, when someone is convicted of multiple offenses arising out of the same conduct, he gets multiple sentences that are all served at the same time. But in some cases, a judge can force a defendant to serve the sentences consecutively, which results in a much longer period of incarceration.

Torres-Vasquez will serve his sentences back to back. He was sentenced to 11 years for killing Homola and seven years for injuries to the two women in the Hyundai. He must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for good behavior credits, though he will get credit for time served so far. He will also serve two years of probation.

The probation might not matter much, however. Torres-Vasquez will be turned over to immigration agents after he completes his prison term. He was previously set to be deported after his third DUI in 2008. However, he skipped the deportation hearing and somehow slipped through the cracks.

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