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[UPDATED] Unlicensed Teen Driver Who Killed 4-Year-Old Takes Plea Deal
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 5, 2015
Modified Jul 24, 2017
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 5, 2015
Modified Jul 24, 2017
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[UPDATE BELOW] The unlicensed teenager accused of fatally striking 4-year-old Ariel Russo in 2013 has not yet decided whether he will take a plea deal, having rejected such a deal in court yesterday. A judge has given him another day to reconsider.
In January, Franklin Reyes, now 18, was offered a sentence of three to nine years as part of a plea bargain for a manslaughter charge stemming from the June 4th, 2013 crash, and given 45 days to consider it. Initially, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge offered him a status as a youthful offender and a sentence of up to four years in prison, but rescinded that deal after Reyes was arrested two more times.
Yesterday, Reyes refused the deal, and his attorney says his client is "prepared to accept an offer, but not that offer," though the prosecutor handling the case says she has no plans to offer a lesser sentence. Prosecutors initially wanted a sentence of 11 to 15 years if Reyes plead guilty; if the case goes to trial and the teen is convicted, he could face up to 21 years behind bars.
Reyes is accused of striking Ariel while she crossed an Upper West Side street with her grandmother. "I thought we were going to know for sure today what was going to happen," Ariel's mother, Sofia Russo, told NBC News. "We still don't know. Like my husband said, we'll keep coming every day if we have to until we get justice."
Reyes will accept or reject the deal one last time today.
Update 4:52 p.m.: Franklin Reyes has pleaded guilty to fatally striking Ariel Russo, according to a release from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office this afternoon.
"Four-year-old Ariel Russo was walking to daycare with her grandmother when Franklin Reyes, Jr., driving without a license, hit and killed the young girl as he attempted to escape police,” DA Cyrus Vance, Jr. said in a statement. "The loss of such a young life is a terrible tragedy. After committing this horrific offense and being ordered not to drive, Reyes not only continued driving but attempted to flee police on two more occasions. In one incident, Reyes dragged an officer approximately 100 feet, seriously injuring him. Time and again, this defendant demonstrated no regard for human life or respect for the rule of law and, because of this, my Office has repeatedly requested extremely significant penalties for his egregious and repeated criminal conduct."
Reyes plead guilty to charges of manslaughter and assault, in addition to as well as unlawfully fleeing a police officer and escape. He will be sentenced on March 25th.
Tagged
ariel russo
crime
franklin reyes
pedestrian fatality
Upper West Side
Rebecca Fishbein
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