Driver agrees to 5 years in prison in DUI death

A 22-year-old Bonita Springs man charged with the death of his friend during a drunken-driving crash two years ago agreed Thursday to spend five years in prison.

Julio Cesar Salas Garcia pleaded no contest in Collier County Circuit Court to one count of DUI manslaughter. As part of the plea agreement, he also agreed to a five-year probation sentence and a permanent driver’s license revocation.

Assistant State Attorney Mike Provost agreed to drop misdemeanor charges of DUI with property damage and driving without a license.

Salas Garcia, 26551 Noble Lane, receives credit for the nearly two years he has spent in Collier County jail on no bond. He could have faced up to 15 years in prison if he had gone to trial and been convicted. His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Mike Orlando, said that possibility played a part in the decision to plead.

There were also questions about whether the prosecutor could prove Salas Garcia was driving when the car crashed around 7 a.m. July 23, 2004.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol arrest report, Salas Garcia lost control of the vehicle on Interstate 75 near Mile Marker No. 61. The car flipped at least once, ejecting passenger Jose Arellano, a friend of Salas Garcia.

Witnesses said Salas Garcia tried to drive away after the crash but found the car wouldn’t start. The arrest report says Salas Garcia had to be cut out of the vehicle using the a fire department’s Jaws of Life tool.

Arellano, whose age and address were unavailable Thursday, died at the scene.

Troopers took a blood sample from Garcia at Naples Community Hospital and found his blood-alcohol level to be 0.136 percent, well above the 0.08 level at which a driver in Florida is considered drunk. And according to the arrest report, Salas Garcia had a seatbelt imprint on his chest that led investigators to believe he was driving at the time of the crash.

Orlando said Salas Garcia’s relationship to the victim may have played a role in the plea agreement. State sentencing guidelines called for a minimum of 10 years in prison. Salas Garcia received half that, with the other five years of probation rather than prison time.

“The only other thing might be the person who was killed was a friend of Mr. Salas Garcia, and the vehicle was actually the friend’s. That may have played into it,” Orlando said.

Provost said he initially wanted eight years in prison. Orlando countered with three years plus 12 years of probation.

But Salas Garcia is a Mexican native in the United States illegally. He’s very likely to be deported after his release from prison, so he wouldn’t serve his probation.

Provost told the judge he wants Salas Garcia to report to his probation officer 48 hours after his release from prison. The judge, Lawrence D. Martin, asked how that could happen if Salas Garcia is deported.

“If he comes back, we want him to be on probation,” Provost said.

“If he comes back, he’ll have another problem,” Martin said, meaning U.S. immigration officials will prosecute him.

“That may be,” Provost said. “But he may be able to come back legally, I don’t know. If he does, I want to make sure he’s on probation.”

Provost said he approved reducing the prison sentence he wanted to five years.

“That’s just three less years we have to support him in our system,” Provost said.