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Man sentenced in fatal DUI crash
A 33-year-old Leesburg man will spend the next 12 years in prison for causing a fatal crash while driving with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit.
Arturo Armando Martinez was sentenced Sept. 16 for the March 15 crash that killed Jeffrey Cooper, 52, of California.
Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge James H. Chamblin sentenced Martinez to 20 years in prison for aggravated involuntary manslaughter, and one year each for driving under the influence (Martinez's second in five years) and hit and run.
Chamblin suspended 10 years of the manslaughter sentence, and Martinez will be on probation for 20 years after his release in 2020. His license also was revoked, and he was ordered to pay restitution to Cooper's family for funeral expenses.
During the hearing, Cooper's fiancee, Sally Tompkins, and his sister, Jennifer Cooper Roy, testified about their loss.
Martinez shed tears and covered his mouth as Tompkins described Cooper as her best friend.
“He was my family and my home,” she said. “He was my protection, my safety.”
Tompkins told Martinez about the plans she and Cooper had to retire and travel.
“Now I have no plans, I have no peace, I have no rest,” she said. “Yet I forgive you.”
Roy described her brother as an “extraordinary man” and named several times he had helped friends, family and co-workers.
Just before Chamblin delivered the sentence, Martinez, who pleaded guilty on June 9, turned to Cooper's family and expressed remorse.
"It hurts me terribly what has happened and what I have caused,” he said through an interpretor. “I ask for your forgiveness.”
The incident took place at about 4:20 p.m. March 15 when Martinez, driving a Ford pickup truck on Route 7 west near Smith Circle in Ashburn, struck a Hyundai Sonata stopped at a red light, Loudoun County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kraig Troxell said.
Martinez then accelerated to continue on Route 7. When he approached the intersection of Janelia Farm Boulevard, the traffic signal turned red, and traffic stopped.
Martinez turned right onto Janelia Farm Boulevard, lost control of his truck, crossed the median, hit a highway sign and struck a Pontiac Grand Prix that was stopped on Janelia Farm Boulevard, waiting to make a left turn onto Route 7.
Cooper, the driver of the Grand Prix, died at the scene.
The impact pushed Cooper's car into a Lexus. The passengers in the Lexus suffered minor injuries.
Martinez had a blood alcohol level of .17, authorities said.
And when will ICE deport this illegal alien? Chalk up another American killed by yet another illegal alien.
Posted by PJ
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Chalk up another probable illegal alien still here because for 6 years of ABSOLUTE Republican government nothing was done about the problem. Can't blame Democrats since the Republicans had the presidency and congress totally locked up for those 6 years. Instead of fixing real problems like this they spent their time further deregulating big business and invading the WRONG country. They love to "talk the talk" but it appears they seldom "walk the walk"
Posted by BabyBoomer
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You idiot... He was not an illegal alien! As a local attorney with intimate knowledge of this case, trust me. Just because he has a hispanic name, or speaks through an interpreter, does not mean he is here illegally!!!
Posted by fact-checker
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Hey ARROGANT "fact-checker" maybe instead of calling citizens of this country idiots you can start teaching all of those "legal" persons how to speak English. You will only need to be bilingual with Spanish and English. Germans...no problem. Korean....no problem. Vietnamese ... no problem. Spanish....I REFUSE TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR COUNTRY ...YOU MUST CATER TO MY LANGUAGE and I demand full rights of citizenship whether I crossed the border in the trunk of a car or not!
Posted by BabyBoomer
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After review of statements made about the man sentenced to prison, I have an opinion as well.
It is amazing to me how someone can be so hateful and upset over something they have no knowledge of; I too am aware the citizen in question was not an illegal alien. Futhermore, to state that all other nationalities are accepted by (you) other than hispanic individuals must mean there is some type of issue against hispanics in your mind.
Regardless, I thought this was a place to post comments not discuss radical racial politics.
Take a break and count to ten maybe you will feel better babyboomer
Posted by Humble
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BabyBoomer: i didn't call the "citizens" of this country idiots... i called you an idiot. You turn this tragic death... this preventable tragic death, into a platform to wax idiotic about Republicans.
He was NOT an illegal alien. I repeat, NOT an illegal alien.
Do you have anything to say about the white, 17 year old, valedictorian who killed a 42 year old mother of 3 while driving drunk? (around 3-4 months ago here in Loudoun). She won't spend a day in jail. How can we blame that tragic death on the Republicans.
Posted by fact-checker
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For a more personal insight into this story, read my Blog here:
http://www.loudountimes.com/blogs/bea...
Posted by S_Jwagoner
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