Arapahoe prosecutor offers 15-year-old who killed woman while driving 90 mph plea deal
The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office has offered a plea deal to a 15-year-old who was driving 90 mph in a neighborhood when he hit and killed 24-year-old Kaitlyn Weaver, according to news reports.
The teenager, who is staying in the U.S. unlawfully, was charged with vehicular homicide. Initially, the District Attorney’s Office promised to pursue the maximum two-year sentence in youth corrections, adding that it would be a “no plea deal” case, according to a report from CBS News.
After the office was handed to new District Attorney Amy Padden in January, the teen was offered two years’ probation, 100 hours of community service and a requirement to attend school and not break any laws, according to CBS News, citing the victim’s family.
According to CBS News, the crash happened last July in Aurora when Weaver was driving home from work. The teenager was driving a Jeep over 90 mph in a neighborhood where the speed limit was 45 mph and hit her car. Weaver was rushed to a hospital, where her parents removed her from life support two days later, CBS News reported.
CBS News said the teenager, who did not have a license or insurance, had other kids in the car with him at the time of the crash. His mother said he took the car without permission, according to CBS News.
Investigators said his mother initially planned to send him back to Colombia, but he has now filed for an asylum in the U.S.
Since the driver is a juvenile, he is not being publicly identified in court records, according to the District Attorney’s Office on Thursday.
John Weaver, the victim’s father, said the district attorney’s office promised it would be a “no plea deal” and no “concession.”
“Why the change? If he had taken a firearm and recklessly just shot it and killed someone, this would be a different case. They would be pushing it completely differently,” Weaver told CBS News. “There’s no deterrence.”
Weaver added: “Immigration and the criminal justice system and all these things landed together one day in Aurora and now I sit here today without a daughter.”
Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley said the conviction “to the highest charge” and the negotiated sentence reflect the “seriousness of this preventable tragedy.”
“Although the driver’s age and relevant legal statutes resulted in this case being handled in juvenile court, this should not diminish the severity of the offense,” Brackley said in a statement shared with The Denver Gazette. “We unequivocally condemn such reckless and unlawful behavior, which had devastating and irreversible results.”
Brackley added that the District Attorney’s Office assigned Weaver’s family a victim advocate to guide them through the judicial process and communicated with them before agreeing to a final disposition.
He added that suspects’ citizenship status does not play any role in whether or not they enter into plea agreements. He said plea agreements are a “common” part of the judicial system.
“No legal outcome can truly make up for the profound loss and void Kaitlyn’s loved ones will live with permanently,” Brackley said.
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