By Carlos Andres López
Las Cruces Sun-News
LAS CRUCES — A Dona Ana County corrections officer was sentenced to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide on Thursday in 3rd Judicial District Court in Las Cruces.
Armando Ozuna, 24, of El Paso, agreed to plead guilty to one count of vehicular homicide, a third-degree felony, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Ozuna was involved in a deadly rollover in Chaparral last year that left a fellow officer dead and injured another. According to court documents, Ozuna told investigators that he and the other men had been drinking beer on Sept. 23, 2014, after they finished their shifts at the detention center. All three were in a pickup, driven by Ozuna, heading to a gathering in Chaparral.
Ozuna said he lost of control of the pickup on Lisa Drive as he tried to avoid hitting a slow-moving Corvette from behind, the court documents say. The pickup swerved and rolled several times.
Authorities said 20-year-old Javier Ochoa, who was sitting in the front seat, was thrown from the pickup and died while being transported to a hospital. The other passenger, who was sitting in a backseat, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
A Dona Ana County grand jury charged Ozuna with vehicular homicide, aggravated DWI and reckless driving on Dec. 19, 2014, according to an indictment filed in 3rd Judicial District Court. Online court records indicated that he pleaded not guilty to the charges in January.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the DWI and reckless driving charges. Prosecutors requested that the court sentence Ozuna to six years in prison, said Jesse Grajeda, spokesman for the in 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
However, District Judge Mari E. Beyer ordered that Ozuna serve two years in prison, followed by four years of supervised probation, according to lead prosecutor Cynthia Clark.
Ozuna also was ordered to serve 120 hours of community service, specifically in the area DWI prevention education, Clark said.
“It’s a tragic case on both sides,” she said. “We’re happy that Judge Beyer imposed a period of incarceration. The (Ochoa) family is pleased that there has been some accountability.”
Ozuna has been employed with the detention center since March 2013, according to Sun-News archives. He was still employed there as of Thursday, a county spokesperson told the Sun-News.
Copyright 2015 Las Cruces Sun-News