Spanish
Puerto Rico.- Mayra Nevárez Torres, the woman accused of causing the death of Justin Santos, brother of the urban artist Arcángel, was sentenced this Monday to 15 years in prison, after the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico upheld the determination that the sentence should be served in prison and not under house arrest.
The sentence was issued by Judge Wanda Cruz Ayala in the Superior Court of San Juan, after a resentencing hearing that ended a long judicial process initiated by the events that occurred in November 2021. Of the total sentence, the court granted a bonus of 11 months for time already served since the initial sentence handed down last January to the accused.
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Nevárez Torres was found guilty of driving under the influence and causing a fatal crash on the Teodoro Moscoso bridge, where Justin Santos died and Kevin Monserrate Gandía was seriously injured. The authorities determined that the accused was driving in the wrong lane and that her blood alcohol level was 29%, almost four times the permitted limit.Before imposing the sentence, the judge explained that, although she favors alternative sentencing models aimed at rehabilitation, she was obliged to abide by the determination of the appellate courts. Cruz Ayala also took the opportunity to announce her retirement after 24 years in the judiciary, which added a solemn tone to the hearing.
During the hearing, Nevárez Torres addressed the victims' families and expressed remorse for what happened. "There are no excuses for what I did. I recognize the seriousness of my actions and the pain I have caused," the convict stated, while assuring that she had sought professional help to address her health and quit drinking alcohol. Justin Santos' mother, Carmen Santos, reacted after the sentence, pointing out that the process does not represent an emotional closure. "Justin is not here, and I continue transforming the pain to stand and persevere," she expressed as she left the courtroom, while indicating that she would have expected to hear words of repentance much earlier. Nevárez Torres' defense had requested that the nearly four years that had passed since he paid bail be deducted from the sentence, but the Public Prosecutor's Office opposed, arguing that it is only appropriate to credit the time served after the formal sentence. The judge accepted the prosecution's argument and denied the request. With this determination, the order for Nevárez Torres to serve his prison sentence is consolidated, thus closing all avenues for reconsideration before the courts. The case has been closely followed due to the public attention generated by the death of Justin Santos and once again places the legal consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol at the center of the debate.
