Mount Airy Pleads Guilty to Two Counts of Negligent Vehicular Homicide; Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

July 13, 2009

Howard County Circuit Court Judge Louis A. Becker, III sentenced a 21-year old Mount Airy man to three years in prison, this morning, for two deaths that resulted from an automobile accident on Route 32 in Dayton during the early morning hours of March 1, 2009. Prior to sentencing, Jose Algomeda-Santiago, of the 15000 block of Liberty Road, pleaded guilty to two counts of negligent vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol per se. ["Per se" is a Latin term that translates to “as a matter of law.” When a driver’s blood alcohol concentration exceeds the State’s legal limit they are, as a matter of law, considered to be under the influence of alcohol.]

According to court documents and Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Danielle M. Duclaux, Algomeda-Santiago lost control of the Volkswagen Jetta he was driving on the snow and ice-covered roadway. The vehicle spun around, crossing the center yellow line, and collided with a Dodge pickup truck headed in the opposite direction. One passenger in the rear seat was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Another man, sitting in the front passenger seat, was transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center where he later died. Algomeda-Santiago, along with a third passenger in the Jetta, and the truck driver survived the accident.

Duclaux told the court that police noted a strong odor of alcohol on Algomeda-Santiago and that during the course of his treatment for a concussion and fracture of the scapula at Shock Trauma, his blood alcohol concentration tested at .09 grams per deciliter (g/dl) which is above the State’s legal limit of .08 g/dl.

During the course of the proceeding, it was revealed that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on Algomeda-Santiago and it is likely he will be deported to his native Mexico following his incarceration. For that reason, he was not sentenced to any probation.