Dem Judge Sentences Suspected Illegal Immigrant To Just 120 Days In Jail For Fatal Hit-And-Run

The family of 20-year-old Michael Archuleta, who was hit and killed by a vehicle last November, remains distraught on Monday after a judge went easy on the 41-year-old suspected illegal immigrant who was behind the wheel.

North Carolina Superior Court Judge Tiffany Powers sentenced Maria Concepcion Cardona Alejo to just 120 days in jail, Brunswick County Assistant District Attorney Shirley Smircic confirmed in a statement to The Daily Wire. The judge, a Democrat, could have sentenced Alejo to up to 29 months behind bars, but opted for 120 days in jail and 36 months of supervised probation after the jail stint, which begins on Monday.

Alejo pleaded guilty to the fatal hit-and-run and driving without a license.

Archuleta’s mother Emily Carpenter told The Daily Wire shortly after the sentencing that “it’s unjust.”

“Like I said before, I have a life sentence. She gets to go home in 120 days,” Carpenter said. “My son’s birthday is next month; he would’ve been 21.”

“I’m just numb from this,” she added.

The 120-day sentence means Alejo will be out of jail on December 23, just in time for Christmas. The suspected illegal immigrant gave no statement in court and did not offer an apology to Archuleta’s family before she was sentenced, according to Carpenter.

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Archuleta, who was developmentally delayed, was riding his bike home after being with a friend when he was struck and killed by Alejo. Archuleta’s body wasn’t found until the next day, and Alejo was arrested three days after the accident. She posted bail a few hours after being detained.

Alejo broke the law at least seven times between 2009 and 2021 for driving without a license, and was slapped with small fines for the infractions. Carpenter previously told The Daily Wire that it’s “not fair” that her son — who had recently scheduled an appointment to get his driver’s license — was killed by an illegal immigrant repeatedly charged with unlicensed driving.

According to the Brunswick County Sheriff’s booking report, Alejo is a Mexican national. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesman told The Daily Wire that he could not confirm if Alejo is in the United States illegally because she was bailed out of jail in November before ICE could issue a detainer request. In order for ICE to issue a detainer, a suspect must be interviewed by an agent in person to determine his or her status.

Carpenter said that even if Alejo is deported following her sentence, it won’t give the family any closure because “she’s just going to make her way back.”

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Following Alejo’s sentencing, Archuleta’s sister, Angel, wrote on Facebook, “Today [Alejo] got off on a guilty plea after we were told there was no chance of a plea deal, 120 days in jail and then probation for killing my 20 year old brother and admitting she saw him on his bike, still hit him and left him there because she had to go to work.”

“Our system and government in North Carolina and Brunswick county is truly corrupt and backward,” she added. “To sweep the case and string our family along for almost a whole year just for the court to laugh in our face and give her yet another slap on the wrist for breaking multiple laws as well as lying under oath in the court.”