A teenage illegal immigrant who killed a 24-year-old Colorado woman during a high-speed crash was given a lenient plea deal by a progressive district attorney that allowed him to walk free without serving any jail time.
The 15-year-old Colombian teen, who has not been publicly named because of state laws that shield the identity of underage criminal suspects, was sentenced to two years probation and 100 hours of community service for the July 2024 death of Kaitlyn Weaver, her father, John Weaver, told Fox News Digital.
The office of Arapahoe County District Attorney Amy Padden offered the teen a plea deal if he admitted his guilt in the deadly crash.
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The teen was racing his Jeep with other kids at speeds of 90 mph in a residential neighborhood in the Denver suburb of Aurora when he T-boned Weaver’s vehicle at an intersection, her father said.
“It was an instantaneous death,” John Weaver said.
Kaitlyn Weaver was waiting at a stop sign and speaking to her boyfriend on speakerphone at the time she was struck, he said. She was kept on life support for two days before she was taken off and her organs were donated.
The teen suspect was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide. At the time, the Weavers were told by the DA’s office the case was a “no plea offer” case, John Weaver said.
However, in January, Padden, who received endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, informed the Weaver family her office would negotiate a probation plea deal.
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“They said by doing two years probation, that’s probably more than the judge would give if he pleaded guilty,” John Weaver said. “You don’t have to participate in a bad system. If the judge wanted to sentence him to less, that’s the judge’s issue. What happened in this case is you (prosecutors) created it into your issue. Now you’re part of the problem.”
The Weavers’ attorney, Matthew Durkin, called the deal “abhorrent,” noting that Weaver was killed during the prime of her life.
John Weaver noted that the teen who killed his daughter was in the United States illegally and unlicensed.
“We had a collision where the immigration system and the criminal justice system collided, and now my daughter’s dead,” he said.
The teen had taken the uninsured Jeep without his mother’s permission, according to local reports. His mother told authorities she planned to move him back to Colombia, but he has since applied for asylum.
Arapahoe County Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley said he “unequivocally” condemns the teen’s “reckless and unlawful behavior, which had devastating and irreversible results.”
“We believe the conviction to the highest charge in this case and the negotiated sentence acknowledges the seriousness of this preventable tragedy, and that no legal outcome can truly make up for the profound loss and void Kaitlyn’s loved ones will live with permanently,” Brackley said.
In a Facebook post this week, Padden addressed Weaver’s death while focusing on the dangers of speeding.
“We acknowledge Kaitlyn Weaver’s death was the direct result of a crash caused by an unlicensed teenager driving at nearly twice the posted speed limit,” she wrote. “This tragic loss is a powerful reminder that it is not just alcohol or drug-impaired driving that takes lives. Driving at dangerous speeds has deadly consequences too, and they are felt by our entire community.”
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