A Westland man, Jose Eugeno Medina-Hernandez, has been sentenced to serve 270 days in jail following his conviction for a Macomb County crash that claimed the lives of two women. According to The Detroit News, the crash occurred on M-53 in Shelby Township last June and resulted in the deaths of Nancy Richmond, 88, and her daughter, Crystal Brunn, 63.
The defendant, a 33-year-old Mexican national, was also ordered to complete two years of probation and 50 hours of community service after his incarceration, in addition to paying fines and interpreter fees. Despite having a chauffeur’s license and driving legally in the country as an asylum seeker, Medina-Hernandez now faces possible deportation after his sentencing, as detailed by The Oakland Press. During sentencing, Judge Douglas Shepherd acknowledged the difficulty in deciding cases where drugs or alcohol are not factors, stating, "The defendant has no prior record, yet we have two of our fellow citizens who have died as a result of the actions here."
Discrepancies arose during the trial regarding the number of previous accidents the defendant has been involved in. While the assistant prosecutor argued that Medina-Hernandez had four previous accidents, his defense attorney, Mani Khavajian, contended that there were only two. Additionally, defending his client's character, Khavajian emphasized that the incident was a tragic, albeit unintentional event, quoting, "my client is incredibly remorseful and this was not anything done with intention or ill will or anything like that," as reported by The Oakland Press.
Upon the jury's verdict, Medina-Hernandez's attorney argued that jurors got it wrong, alleging his client had been unjustly vilified due to his status as an asylum seeker, which also raises further questions on the proper adherence to procedural fairness in the legal system. Furthermore, Khavajian pointed to witness reports of another vehicle, a white van, said to aggressively cut off the defendant before the crash—a claim dismissed by law enforcement, as mentioned by The Detroit News. Medina-Hernandez himself, while addressing the victims' families in court, expressed his deep condolences for their loss.
As stated by Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido in a release covered by MLive, the thoughts of his office continue to be with the families of the victims as they navigate the healing process.
