KENNEWICK A Prosser man faces four years in prison after entering a modified guilty plea Wednesday to being intoxicated when he drove the wrong way on Interstate 82 in November and killed another driver and injured her 11-year-old passenger.
Edward Eusebio Castilleja, 49, earlier pleaded innocent to charges of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in Benton County Superior Court.
Castilleja's attorney tried unsuccessfully Jan. 21 to have Judge Bruce Spanner throw out the vehicular assault charge.
Castilleja entered an Alford plea, under which he did not admit guilt but admitted that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to convict him.
Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller has recommended a 47-month prison term for Castilleja. The final decision will be up to the judge.
Sentencing guidelines for both crimes range from 41 months to 54 months, Miller said, adding, "The state didn't give much today."
Sentencing is set for Feb. 17. Castilleja will remain out on bail until then.
Miller said the victims' families wanted Castilleja to be held accountable but didn't want to go through a trial. "They wished the (sentencing) guidelines were higher," Miller told the judge.
He said Castilleja's blood-alcohol level was measured after the accident at 0.18 percent, a little more than twice the legal limit.
A somber Castilleja responded to the judge's questions with short sentences as he said he understood the implications of his plea.
His attorney, Scott Johnson, refused to comment afterward.
Castilleja had been drinking in Grandview early Nov. 7 before he got onto I-82 driving eastbound in the westbound lanes.
Angelica Barajas, 20, of Grandview, was killed when Castilleja's truck slammed into her 2007 Chrysler 300. Her passenger, Stephanie Vega, suffered a serious leg fracture.
-- Pratik Joshi: 509-582-1541; pjoshi@tricityherald.com
Similar stories:
Man sentenced in Benton County court for vehicular homicide
Man sentenced in Benton County court for vehicular homicide
KENNEWICK -- When Teresa Hernandez left for work late April 23, she told her 21-year-old son she would see him in the morning.
The Pasco mother didn't know those would be the last words she spoke to her son.
"I didn't see him anymore," she sobbed Thursday in court.
Superior Court judge steps down from sentencing
Superior Court judge steps down from sentencing
Defense attorneys asked a judge Thursday to excuse himself from sentencing a Benton City man convicted of severely injuring two motorcyclists in a July crash.
Superior Court Judge Bruce Spanner agreed to step down on the Benton County case of Chad Michael Sehnert.
The motion, filed just a couple hours before the afternoon hearing, didn't give a detailed reason for the request to change the judge.
Benton County judge delivers 5-year sentence for vehicular assault
Benton County judge delivers 5-year sentence for vehicular assault
KENNEWICK — A 34-year-old man with an obvious drug problem only was thinking of himself when he drove away after crashing into two motorcyclists, a Benton County judge said Thursday.
Chad Michael Sehnert should not have been behind the wheel of his truck July 21 when he slammed into the motorcycle, causing both of its riders to lose a leg, said Judge Craig Matheson.
Sehnert, who told the court he was ready to take his punishment, expected a two-year sentence that was recommended after lengthy plea negotiations. But Matheson decided it wasn't enough, and ordered five years behind bars.
Grandview man sentenced in 2009 murder
Grandview man sentenced in 2009 murder
YAKIMA -- In the end, Chelsie Stoneking was not pregnant.
But a mistaken belief that she was apparently contributed to an attack by her on-again, off-again boyfriend that left the 16-year-old dead, an act Yakima County Superior Court Judge Blaine Gibson described as incomprehensible in its savagery.
Gibson sentenced 19-year-old Heriberto Saucedo last week to 23 years in prison for his guilty plea to first-degree murder for the Dec. 20, 2009, killing at Stoneking's Grandview home.
Grandview man sentenced in 2009 murder
Grandview man sentenced in 2009 murder
YAKIMA -- In the end, Chelsie Stoneking was not pregnant.
But a mistaken belief that she was apparently contributed to an attack by her on-again, off-again boyfriend that left the 16-year-old dead, an act Yakima County Superior Court Judge Blaine Gibson described as incomprehensible in its savagery.
Gibson sentenced 19-year-old Heriberto Saucedo last week to 23 years in prison for his guilty plea to first-degree murder for the Dec. 20, 2009, killing at Stoneking's Grandview home.
Print
Email Story
