Posted on 12/26/2005 10:31:29 AM PST by dennisw
Illegal alien gets 6 years in death of WWII vet
DANIEL TEPFER dtepfer@ctpost.com Connecticut Post
BRIDGEPORT — Chester Dillahunt of Fairfield survived World War II and the Korean War to be killed at the age of 86 by a drunken illegal immigrant. On Friday, Jeronimo Rocha, from Brazil, was sentenced to six years in prison for the crime. He'll be deported back to Brazil after he serves his term.
"I feel very guilty about everything that happened," Rocha told Superior Court Judge Roland Fasano on Friday. "I'm very saddened by the fact that somebody died."
"All of this suffering was caused by a man who was illegally in this country, driving drunk without a license and without insurance," retorted Fasano, as he handed down the sentence. But the judge stopped short of imposing the eight-year term urged by Assistant State's Attorney Howard Stein. "We are all aware the defendant didn't wake up that morning intending to go out and kill someone," Fasano said.
Rocha, 37, of Danbury, previously pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle.
According to police, shortly before 5 p.m. March 20, Dillahunt, of Gilbert Highway, Fairfield, was driving southbound on Black Rock Turnpike in his 2005 Pontiac Vibe when the 1996 Toyota Corolla, driven north by Rocha, veered over the double yellow line and crashed head on into him.
The impact of the crash caused Dillahunt's car to roll over and he was trapped inside, police said. Dillahunt, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army who was a decorated veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, was in a coma for five weeks before he died.
Police said Rocha, who had a blood alcohol level of 0.247, told them he was driving home after attending a party in Bridgeport. While at the party, he told police, he drank at least six Coronas.
Rocha said he lost control while negotiating a curve in the wet road but didn't remember hitting the victim's car, police said.
He was treated for minor injuries.
Stein told the judge that this would be the first Christmas in 63 years of marriage that Dillahunt will not be celebrating with his wife.
"It's imperative that the court send a message to anybody who considers drinking and driving on this holiday season that this type of behavior will not be tolerated," he said.
Daniel Tepfer, who covers state courts and law enforcement issues, can be reached at 330-6308.
6 - 8 years DOESN"T sound like intolerance to me
25 to life would be more fitting.
Regardless, he intended to drink, he intended to get behind the wheel of a car, and the rest is history. Lock his ass up permanently or deport him.
"I feel very guilty about everything that happened," Rocha told Superior Court Judge Roland Fasano on Friday. "I'm very saddened by the fact that somebody died."I wonder if those words were truly spoken in English?
Will this scum be deported when his term is up?
Read.
Dear God! When are the stupid b@st@rds in our feckless government going to do something about these illegal aliens and the havoc they are wreaking in this country?
Is this worth the price for cheap lettuce, nannies and day laborers?
"Police said Rocha, who had a blood alcohol level of 0.247, told them he was driving home after attending a party in Bridgeport. While at the party, he told police, he drank at least six Coronas. "
Six Coronas?? Try a case!!
I assume this would not have happened if we would just give illegals licenses and require insurance.(/s)
Don't bet the family jewels on it.
I suspect that illegal immigrants who are driving may be the root cause of this increase and not insurance.
From my career in Law Enforcement here in Southern California, and dealing with this problem since about 1985, I formed this truth:
"Statistics don't mean squat until you ARE one".
Translation: This (DUI crashes w/ injury or death) goes on ALL THE TIME. Until lately, no one cared unles they were the one that got hit.
Secondly, I'm surprised that someone in Connecticut cares enough to write about it. The PC Media in California have a " Don't ask--Don't Tell" policy in effect. A crime will be reported, but the perpetrator's citizen status will not.
ping
My thoughts exactly.
b'shem Y'shua
Killing someone during the commission should be first degree murder!
Yea, obviously directed to all who are not already illegal before driving....
He could sure repay some of his debt by giving names of all those who were at the party so they could also be deported.
Let me guess, none of that 6 years is for being in our country illegally.
Holy crap! He may not have awakened that morning intending to kill someone, but he sure didn't think about NOT driving after he'd been drinking all afternoon at a party.
Six years sends WHAT message? None to these damn illegals.
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