Update: Woman pleads guilty in child disfigurement case
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Editor’s note: Maciel was not facing an injury to a child charge as earlier reported. The story has been fixed.
Update (as of 5 p.m. Wednesday):
REXBURG — The trial for Maria Guadalupe Maciel, who was involved in a crash that left a toddler disfigured last November, didn’t last long.
Just before opening statements, Maciel pleaded guilty to one of two counts of felony aggravated DUI in exchange for dismissal of the other, according to court officials.
The state agreed to ask for no more than a suspended sentence and one year in a local jail, after which she would be deported. However, District Judge Gregory Moeller did not take the state’s recommendation and instead retained the discretion to impose a prison sentence of up to 15 years, with the first two fixed, and Maciel being deported after her prison time is completed.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 21.
Original story (published at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday):
REXBURG — A jury trial is scheduled to begin today for an undocumented Mexican immigrant charged with two counts of aggravated DUI.
Maria Guadalupe Maciel of Blackfoot was arrested by Madison County Sheriffs following a car accident involving herself and a then-2-year-old child last November. Madison County Prosecutor Sid Brown said the child suffers permanent disfigurement from injuries in that accident.
The child’s father was also injured in the accident, and detectives said Maciel’s blood-alcohol level after the accident was measured at .24, three times the legal limit.
Maciel pleaded not guilty to both felony charges.
Maciel has had previous arrests and has been the subject of a deportation hearing before. At that time, she was ordered to stay out of the United States for 10 years. Maciel violated the order by either not leaving or returning to the United States within the time frame.
She also served a brief jail sentence in Bonneville County for a misdemeanor DUI in February.
EastIdahoNews.com is following Maciel’s trial and will provide updates throughout the court proceedings.