Kellie Montalvo does not mince words. She calls it “completely outrageous” that the woman convicted of killing her son could walk out of prison this Saturday, Valentine’s Day, after serving less than a third of a nine-year sentence. Her son, 21-year-old Benjamin Montalvo, was riding his bicycle in Corona in June 2020 when he was struck and killed, and prosecutors say the driver sped off instead of stopping.
The Montalvos say a recent letter from the state corrections department told them the driver’s earliest possible release date falls this month. Now the family is scrambling for answers about how a nine-year term appears to have shrunk so dramatically.
Neomi Renee Velado was convicted and sentenced to nine years after a 2023 trial, according to NBC Los Angeles. Prosecutors presented cellphone records and other testimony that jurors weighed before finding Velado guilty of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and felony hit-and-run. They also told the court that she had multiple prior at-fault crashes tied to driver distraction.
The family’s notice came after a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation letter, reviewed by The Los Angeles Times, said Velado’s earliest possible release date was calculated using credits for good conduct and 124 days she had already spent in custody before entering state prison. CDCR guidance explains that an “Earliest Possible Release Date” is a tentative figure that can shift as pre- and in-custody credits are applied and as prisoners earn additional credits through approved programs.
Legal summaries from criminal-justice advocates note that many nonviolent determinate sentences allow day-for-day credits that can effectively cut a term in half, and that work in firefighting or similar jobs can speed up credit earning even more. Put together, those rules can turn what sounds like a long sentence into something that feels a lot shorter for victims’ families.
Family Presses Officials and Heads to Sacramento
“She gets to be released on Valentine’s Day, which is another stab in the gut,” Montalvo told local reporters as she pushed officials to recheck the math on Velado’s credits and urged the governor’s office to look at the file, according to ABC7. For the family, the holiday release date feels less like a coincidence and more like salt in a still-open wound.
The Montalvos, who helped form the Inland Empire chapter of the nonprofit Streets Are For Everyone, say they are taking their anger to the Capitol. They plan to travel to Sacramento this week to stand with lawmakers backing new bills to toughen penalties for DUI and hit-and-run crimes. So far, CDCR has refused to release Velado’s detailed credit worksheet, citing privacy rules, which only adds to the family’s frustration about how the timeline was calculated.
How Credits Can Shorten Sentences, and Proposed Fixes
State lawmakers have zeroed in on California’s credit system as a key reason early release dates can blindside victims’ families. According to LegiScan, Senate Bill 907, introduced by Sen. Bob Archuleta, would add gross vehicular manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated to the list of violent felonies. That change would sharply limit the credits most defendants could earn and would tack on new enhancements for repeat offenders.
At the same time, a broader Assembly package would increase use of ignition interlocks and breathalyzers after DUI convictions, a push described in coverage by CalMatters. Supporters argue that tougher monitoring upfront could prevent many drunk-driving crashes before anyone ends up in a courtroom, or in a cemetery.
What the Governor Can Do, and What He Cannot
The governor’s legal affairs team has told the Montalvos that the office cannot simply overrule a CDCR release date with the stroke of a pen, but it can review whether the agency applied credits correctly, The Los Angeles Times reports. That leaves victims with a short list of options: seek internal reviews, push prosecutors for transparency, or try to change the law in Sacramento.
For now, the Montalvos say they will keep fighting, both through their local SAFE chapter and by lobbying lawmakers for clearer rules and more visibility into how prison credits are awarded. SAFE Inland Empire lists advocacy and policy work among its core priorities, and the family hopes Benjamin’s case will fuel reforms so other families are not blindsided by a surprise release date of their own.
