The man who vandalized the gravesite of two victims of a DUI crash in West Flagler took a plea deal and was sentenced to some jail time. NBC6’s Christian Colón reports
In 2021 four families were left brokenhearted when a drunk driver going over 100 miles per hour crashed into their loved ones and killed them on New Year’s Day.
After the burial, when the families barely started to grieve, Brian Rodriguez tormented them by defacing the tombstones of Andres Zacarias and Jenser Salazar, two out of the four killed in the West Flagler crash.
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“You are nothing but a cruel, distasteful, unpleasant, unkind, vicious human being,” said Haydee Salazar, Jenser’s sister, when going face-to-face with Rodriguez in court on Friday.
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Rodriguez, who recorded himself spray painting, hammering, and kicking the gravesite and sent the footage to the victims' families, admitted he was guilty and pleaded to trespassing, criminal mischief, and destroying a tomb.
The 27-year-old, who was facing up to 10 years in prison, was sentenced to 30 days in a Miami-Dade County jail.
“You are not sorry for what you did. You are not sorry for what you said. That’s just something you had to do because it was part of the plea,” said Ingrid Zacarias, Andre’s sister.
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On top of jail, Rodriguez, who did not apologize in court, must write an apology letter to the families he targeted. If the letter is not sincere, Judge Carmen R. Cabarga stated she would step in.
After he is released from jail, the defendant will be on house arrest for four months followed by 20 months of probation. Rodriguez must also do 50 hours of community service and seek mental health help.
Judge Cabarga also ordered Rodriguez to pay the victims more than a thousand dollars for retribution.
This plea deal comes nearly a year after the driver, Alex Garcia, who caused the deadly crash, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for driving drunk.
