Driver gets five years for deaths in DUI manslaughter case

Alyza Russell stopped on her way into a Broward courtroom Friday to speak briefly to the mother of a man she killed three years ago, and to the father of another man she killed in the same incident.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, first to Gwendolyn Daniel, the mother of Samuel Martindale, and then to Jean Jules, father of Mackendy Jules. The two men died on June 13, 2013, when Russell, driving drunk, lost control of her mother’s Porsche and plowed through bushes and into a downtown Fort Lauderdale parking lot.

Martindale and Jules were regulars at a nonprofit center that helps the homeless. Family members described them Friday as decent men trying to bounce back from hard times.

Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra sentenced Russell to five years in prison and five years of probation after she pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter with an unlawful blood alcohol level, but not before hearing pleas for mercy from Russell, her family, and in some measure from the families of the victims.

Prosecutors agreed with Russell’s defense lawyer that Kollra should show some leniency. Sentencing guidelines called for a 20-year prison term, and the maximum sentence would have been 30 years. But prosecutor Derek Lewis pushed for a 10-year sentence, echoing the recommendation of Martindale’s mother.

Jules’ father asked the judge to show mercy, arguing that Russell could do more good out of prison telling other young people about the dangers of driving drunk.

“I think she can be a preacher,” he said. “She could be a teacher. Go out there and tell people what she did . ... She can do that instead of 20 years in jail. That’s the way I feel about it.”

Stevie Daniel, Martindale’s uncle, directed his statement on the stand to Russell. “No one can change what happened,” he said. “But will you change the future? Will you make what happened, this mistake, turn out well?”

Russell promised to do just that. Choking back tears as she addressed the victims’ families and the judge, Russell promised to spend the rest of her life seeking redemption.

“I will never look in the mirror and not see the girl who killed Mackendy Jules and Samuel Martindale,” she said. “I can’t take this back. I can’t undo my wrongs. But I can take this message and I can fight every day. ... I will be working each and every day to become the best version of myself.”

Russell said she will be working toward a graduate degree from Southwestern University while in prison. She hopes to go into nonprofit management after her release. During her probation, she will perform five hours of community service per month with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

RAFAEL OLMEDA/STAFF