Woman sentenced to prison for DUI crash that left child’s face disfigured
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REXBURG — An undocumented immigrant living in Blackfoot will spend up to 12 years in prison after admitting to a DUI crash that left a child’s face permanently disfigured.
Maria Guadalupe Maciel appeared before Judge Gregory Moeller in Madison County Monday for sentencing on a felony aggravated driving under the influence charge.
The 37-year-old woman originally faced two aggravated DUI‘s following the November 2015 crash that broke a man’s hip and permanently disfigured the 12-year-old child. As part of a plea agreement, the state dismissed one charge and Maciel agreed to pay restitution for both.
During sentencing, Madison County deputy prosecutor Robert Wood and Maciel’s attorney, James Archibald, recommended one year in local jail plus probation.
While considering his sentence, Moeller mentioned Maciel’s blood-alcohol level after the accident measured at .24, three times the legal limit. And, just three months later, Maciel was arrested for an excessive DUI charge in Bonneville County.
“I’m concerned about your extremely poor judgment,” Moeller said. “After you nearly killed two people and yourself, you got back into a car after being under the influence of alcohol. That goes a long ways toward persuading the court whether or not you learned anything.”
Moeller then sentenced Maciel to 12 years in prison with two years fixed time and 10 years indeterminate. Maciel was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and restitution.
After Maciel serves the fixed portion of her prison sentence, it will be up to the Pardons and Parole Commission to release her to Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officials. She will then undergo deportation hearings with an immigration judge.
“There may be some people who feel that she should just be deported and not have taxpayers support her,” Moeller said. “I don’t agree with that. If I were to place her on probation and let her be deported five months from now, I don’t think she would be held fully accountable.”
As an undocumented immigrant, Maciel has been the subject of a deportation hearing twice before.