Judge rejects low-end sentence for hit-and-run driver who killed Richland mother
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge rejects low-end 36-month recommendation.
- Plea deal error reduced initial 48-month cap to 43 months.
- Investigation used video, Flock cameras, witnesses and tip.
A hit-and-run driver who left a mother of five to die on a dark Kennewick street was sentenced to three years and seven months in Benton County Superior Court on Monday.
Alexandra N. Brinkley, 33, pleaded guilty of hit-and-run and giving a false identity to police after a meticulous investigation determined she fatally struck Angelica Morfin-Barajas, 31, on Canal Drive on Nov. 1, 2025.
Benton County Superior Court Judge Joseph Burrowes handed down a sentence that includes 43 months for hit-and-run, which is to be served at the same time as a separate 365-day sentence for giving false information to police.
She must also submit DNA to law enforcement, faces losing her driver’s license and must pay the victim’s family nearly $8,000 to cover funeral costs.
Brinkley faced a sentence of 36 to 48 months. Prosecutors and defense recommended a low-end sentence of 36 months or three years.
Judge rejects recommendation
Unusually, Burrowes rejected the recommendation, saying it wasn’t appropriate given the seriousness of the crime.
Burrowes said the autopsy indicated gruesome injuries and noted that the driver of a second vehicle was traumatized by the events of that night.
“I can’t in good conscience accept,” he said.
He initially sentenced Brinkley to 48 months, the top of the sentencing range. He reduced it to 43 months after an attorney discovered a mistake on the agreement Brinkley signed in December, which was repeated in a Tri-City Herald account of the deal.
The plea agreement incorrectly gave the sentencing range as 36 months to 43 months. That meant Brinkley pleaded guilty on the understanding she faced a maximum of 43 months in prison, not 48.
The court gave her the option to withdraw her plea because of the mistake. She declined.
In her own comments to the court, Brinkley expressed severe remorse and pledged to use her time in prison to better herself.
The court heard tearful testimony from the victim’s two younger sisters, who objected to the low-end recommendation.
“She abandoned my sister to die,” Estefania Morfin said. “My sister died alone and cold. She mattered. Her life mattered.”
Evelyn Tobon, the youngest of the sisters, echoed her older sister.
“I am mad as hell and I will never forgive you,” she said. “You will always be the person who killed my sister and walked away.”
Planned to flee
According to investigators, Brinkley was speeding down a dark stretch of Canal Drive in a red Jeep Grand Cherokee at about midnight on Nov. 1 when she struck Morfin-Barajas, who was crossing the street.
After the collision, Brinkley reportedly panicked, called an ex-boyfriend, and tried to repair the damage. She made plans to flee the area.
Kennewick police arrested Brinkley after a careful investigation that used video, including Flock cameras, witness statements and an anonymous tip.
The victim’s sisters said they were grateful to the judge for imposing a higher sentence.
Burrowes said credit for solving the case rests with police, not the defendant.
“But for the actions of the law enforcement officers and their tenacity to investigate the case, I think this case could have been unsolved,” he said.
“She didn’t have any common decency to stop and render help,” he said of Brinkley.