‘That coward killed my son.’ Fresno family says fatal hit-and-run sentence too light
A grieving father blasted the justice system Monday for allowing a hit-and-run driver who killed his 28-year-old son to be sentenced to just 4 years, 4 months in prison.
“That coward killed my son and this sentence is a slap in the face of his mother and me,” said Daniel Fuentes Jr., during the sentencing of convicted hit and run driver Johnny Morales, 36.
Police said Morales, who had a previous hit-and-run arrest in 2019, crashed into Jacob Fuentes on July 30, 2020 at about 11:30 p.m. Fuentes was riding his motorcycle eastbound on Shields Avenue near Del Mar avenue in Fresno, when a BMW, driven by Morales turned in front of him and killed him.
Morales ditched his car nearby and ran. It would take Fresno police nearly a year to find him and arrest him.
Morales was charged with hit and run involving injury or death and driving without a valid driver’s license. He pleaded no contest to both counts.
At his sentencing Monday, Fuentes’s family pleaded with Judge Leanne Le Mon to put Morales away for a long time. They described Fuentes as fully of energy, fun-living, and having a contagious laugh. He was involved in many activities including softball, bowling, a motorcycle club and art.
“He befriended everyone,” said his aunt Denise Sandoval. “He was humble, kind and loved beyond words by everyone who knew him.”
Sandoval’s adoration of Fuentes turned to anger as she spoke about the events leading up to the fatal hit and run crash. She said that according to court records Morales was arrested on July 23, 2020 and released the same day. He was picked up on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in another case.
“Seven days (expletive) later he committed the same crime, your honor, and this time it resulted in my nephew’s death,” Sandoval said, fighting back tears. “Not only did he hit my nephew at Del Mar and Shields, but he drove past the accident and parked his vehicle and ran like a (expletive) coward while my nephew lay dying in the street.”
Deputy District Attorney Brian Exline said the maximum sentence in Morales’s case was 5 years and 8 months based on the charges. But achieving that was unlikely under new state sentencing rules that took effect on Jan. 1.
The new law makes it harder for judges and prosecutors to seek lengthy sentences. A prosecutor must prove there are aggravating factors, including prior violent criminal history, poor performance on probation and increasing criminality and planning and sophistication.
Exline said there were no aggravating factors stipulated to or pleaded to by the defendant.
Le Mon said that without those aggravating factors the court’s only option is to sentence Morales to the mid-term of four years and four months.
“The law as stated does not have an extremely long exposure for the crimes that were committed and I do recognize your loss and I do recognize the concerns expressed by the family as well as their opinion in the inadequacy of the system,” Le Mon said.
Fuentes’s father said the entire experience has left him shattered. He has lost a son and he has lost faith in the system, he said.
“My son’s mother and I now live in a nightmare that we both know will never end,” he said. “Our one and only child is gone from our lives and we will never see him again. It is no joke that I live day to day now and this process did not give us anything to hope for through this nightmare.”
This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
