An illegal immigrant had been found responsible for a horrific drunk driving accident in Nebraska. The fiery crash left the driver, 32-year-old Nemias Garcia-Velasco, injured and killed another passenger, 58-year-old Silvano Torres, who has not been wearing his seatbelt. A third passenger, 16-year-old Jesus I. Gonzalez, survived with light injuries.
Mr. Garcia-Velasco was driving along a Nebraska Highway when he lost control of his vehicle and hit a guardrail. According to the Omaha World-Herald, Mr. Garcia-Velasco was speeding and heavily intoxicated, travelling more than 100 miles per hour at the time of the accident.
When the authorities were dispatched to the scene, police found Mr. Garcia-Velasco in a state of clear intoxication. When interviewed by police, the responsible driver admitted to drinking 12 beers in the morning and 12 beers the night before the crash. After he was breath tested, police were horrified to discover that Mr. Garcia-Velasco’s blood-alcohol reading was 0.243, more than 3 times the legal limit (0.008).
While he was being convicted, U.S. Prosecutors discovered that Mr. Garcia-Velasco had entered America illegally. After consulting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, prosecutors found out that Mr. Garcia-Velasco had been deported twice, in 2009 and 2011. Records also indicated that, on five separate occasions, the drunk driver had “voluntarily returned” to Mexico. Despite being caught and deported twice, Mr. Garcia-Velasco never seemd to have much trouble returning to America.
Because of Mr. Garcia-Velasco’s history of disappearing over the border, U.S. Prosecutor, Ryan Lindberg, pressed for a significant bail, saying: “If this is someone who bonds out, I don't think we'll see Mr. Garcia-Velasco again.”
After taking into account Mr. Garcia-Velasco’s past actions and Mr. Lindberg’s suggestions, the serving judge, John Huber, decided to set Mr. Garcia-Velasco’s bond at $2 million. The drunk driver has now been charged with a slew of crimes, including: “motor vehicle homicide, driving under the influence, and operating without a driver's license.”
If he is successfully convicted and found guilty, Mr. Garcia Velasco will finally be punished by the U.S. justice system, facing “up to 20 years in prison.”
However, some online commenters aren’t happy with this kind of punishment. A reader of the Independent Journal Review, known as ‘Morte206’ was particularly troubled by the potential sentence, commenting: “I'm always conflicted with cases like this. Clearly he wants to be in this country desperately as his past history illustrates. Clearly he needs to be punished for his crimes, not just the vehicular one, and yet... in a way isn't imprisoning him here for however long simply giving him what he wants?...he doesn't have to work or pay for health care, room, board and in some cases advanced educational opportunities that you and I as taxpayers have to pay for.”
Since President Trump began his campaign, illegal immigration has become one of the most divisive subjects of the year. Nevertheless, President Trump seems to be going ahead with his campaign promise to build a gigantic wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, tweeting: “Big WIN today for building the wall. It will secure the border & save lives. Now the full House & Senate must act!”
Source: Independent Journal Review, Daily Mail
Photo: Omaha Police
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