MAN CHARGED IN FATAL ACCIDENT NEAR LAKE SOMERVILLE SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS

  

Ignacio Reyes Aviles, 39, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter and was sentenced to 4 – 20 year sentences in prison before visiting Judge J.D. Langley in District Court Thursday.   Aviles was arrested for his involvement in a fatal accident which killed four people, including a six-year-old child, near Lake Somerville in May of 2020.  Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the late night crash on LBJ Drive in Washington County on May 9th.  According to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, reports show that Aviles was intoxicated at the time of the crash, and driving too fast on the wrong side of the road.

The victims of the crash were identified as 37-year-old Justin Richard of Houston, and 18-year-old Chase Sowders, 18-year-old Jasmine Maxwell, and six-year-old Payton Francis, all of Somerville.  Aviles was hospitalized in Bryan in critical condition.

The plea deal was for 4 – 20 year sentences, served concurrently.  Aviles will not be eligible for parole until he has served half of his sentence.  He was also given credit for 736 days in County Jail.  The maximum sentence for Intoxication Manslaughter in the State of Texas is 20 years.  Because Aviles is a non-citizen, he could be deported after he serves his sentence.

A large crowd of family and friends of the victims in the case gathered for the sentencing.  Several of them gave emotion filled statements to the court after the case was heard.

Update @ 5:15 p.m.: In a press release from the Washington County District Attorney's Office, District Attorney Julie Renken said Aviles "offered to plead the maximum sentence in order to avoid the chance of the judge 'stacking' his sentences."  Normally sentences for separate counts are required to run at the same time, concurrently.  In intoxication manslaughter cases, Renken explained “the judge has the discretion to cumulate whatever sentences a jury gives, but it’s strictly up to him.”

Asked about the punishment range, Renken said, "My office is going to help these families get their story to the people who can change the law, the Legislature.  It won’t change what happened in this case, but if we can get the punishment range increased in cases like this where four innocent lives were lost, it will help others in the future.”