Wellington Man Sentenced To 11 Years In Prison For DUI Manslaughter

Last week, after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter, 31-year-old Anthony J. Giglio agreed that he should serve jail time for killing a 31-year-old mother of two at a West Palm Beach intersection on 23rd of February 2013.

He said sorry to the victim’s family and said, “It’s for the judge to decide”, told Assistant State Attorney Laura Laurie. “Who am I to determine what’s fair?”

On Thursday, Circuit Judge David Crow sentenced him to 11 years for the “unquestionable human tragedy”. Other than that after his release, he will have to serve 18 months of probation with a special condition: 200 hours of community service, specifically speaking to schools, youth groups and civic organizations.

In the Court room, Crow ordered Giglio to “honor” Suarez by talking about how he “caused the senseless death of a wonderful young woman and caused serious injury to others and destroyed one family, including your own”.

Crow also added, “Hopefully during this time your actions will prevent someone like yourself from getting into a car and driving while intoxicated. And hopefully, just hopefully, your actions will save someone’s life, and in the future, it will save some degree of a family like the one suffering today”.

Giglio accepted on the hearing held on 3rd of November that he was drinking at downtown West Palm Beach bars before driving his Cadillac SUV. At about 5:15 a.m., he was travelling west on Okeechobee Boulevard when he ran a red light at the Jog Road intersection and slammed the SUV into the passenger side of Suarez’s Ford Mustang. Suarez’s heart was torn apart from the force of the accident and she died on the spot.

When the accident happened, Giglio’s BAC level was 0.243%, more than three times the .08 legal limit of driving a motor vehicle, as shown by a blood sample taken 2 hours after the accident.

He had faced a maximum sentence of 21 years, and a minimum sentence of 13 years and 4 months in prison for the charges of DUI manslaughter, DUI causing or contributing to injury to person or property, for injuries suffered by Julianna Cantu, Suarez’s daughter, and DUI causing or contributing to serious bodily injury, concerning Heather Bisbee, a passenger in Giglio’s vehicle.

Aaron Chaskelson, who was a defense lawyer, asked Crow to reduce the sentence as the crime was an isolated incident and Giglio showed remorse. He asked for 7 years.

Laurie requested the sentence of 14 years. She said after the accident Bisbee told the police that Giglio intentionally ran a red light, saying, “Watch this”.

Crow imposed sentences of 1 year and 5 years for the DUI charges involving the surviving victims, but those terms will run concurrent with the 11-year term for Suarez’s death.

Suarez’s parents, relatives and boyfriend recalled the victim as a kind-hearted and humble person during the hearing held last week. They also told that she was killed on the morning of a planned trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.

Jose Cantu, father of the victim, said that Julianna was 3-year-old when the accident happened. She was strapped to her child car seat in the rear and saw her mother die. A son who is now 13-year-old was not in the car when the accident occurred.

He also said that his daughter was the “backbone of our family” and he said Giglio deserved the maximum possible sentence. He said to the judge, “And that’s not much. He’s still here, she’s not”.

News Source: www.Sun-Sentinel.com