Defendant pleads guilty to intoxication manslaughter
Written by admin, Jul 5, 2014, 0 Comments
Courtesy Yanira Deleon,
(Laredo, Tx)-The Office of District Attorney Isidro R. Alaniz secured a guilty plea in its case against Erick Edmund Muñoz, 36, stemming from a head-on collision that resulted in a fatality.
On the night of October 29, 2011, Laredo police officers were dispatched to a crash scene on the 7000 block of Mines Road. Erick Edmund Muñoz was driving north bound on the south bound Santa Maria/Del Mar flyover. He had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15, almost twice the legal limit, when his 2011 Toyota Tundra crashed into a 2006 Chevy Cobalt driven by 20-year-old Gerardo Rubio. Because of the serious nature of Mr. Rubio’s injuries, he was airlifted to a hospital in San Antonio, Texas where he passed away several days later.
Muñoz refused to stop and render aid, instead fleeing the scene. He was apprehended several minutes later. After his arrest, there was a small amount of cocaine found in the vehicle. He was initially charged with accident involving serious bodily injury or death, and possession of a controlled substance, a third-degree felony and a state jail felony in the State of Texas, respectively. On February 22, 2012 he was re-arrested and charged with intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle, a second-degree felony.
Muñoz agreed to a plea deal where he will serve 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division. His sentencing is scheduled for Friday, August 8, 2014 before the 49th District Court Judge Joe Lopez.
Assistant District Attorneys Juan Ramon Flores, Elizabeth Ohel, and Joaquin Rodriguez, represented the State of Texas.
