32-year sentence handed to drunken driver
Man pleads guilty to striking two, killing teen on prom night
A man who was driving drunk when he killed a Houston teenager as she was coming home on her prom night was sentenced Friday to 32 years in prison.
Edin Palacios, a native of Guatemala, pleaded guilty to a felony murder charge on Monday. Police said on May 14, 2016, he ignored a police officer trying to pull him over on suspicion of drunken driving and ran a red light, killing 18-year-old Jocelynn Valero and injuring her date.
Prosecutors said the seniors at Yes Prep North Central were returning home after eating at IHOP after prom.
Palacios, 28, will be deported after he serves his sentence, said his lawyer, Emily Detoto. Palacios would have pleaded guilty earlier, but the state didn’t want to waive the right to a jury trial and couldn't come to agreement with Detoto on a sentence, Detoto said. The state asked for 50 years, she said.
While in jail, Palacios attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, took classes through Houston Community College and participated in religious activities, Detoto said.
“It’s tragic because a life was cut short, but what’s also tragic is that my client had otherwise lived an impeccable life,” his lawyer said. “He was educated; he had goals also. There’s no winners here at all.”
Macrina Valero asked for justice for the her daughter after the accident, describing her as a "good, respectful" girl who aspired to become a detective.
"She was everything to me," Macrina Valero said in a social media post that Saturday afternoon.