Some angered by Fierro homicide sentence

should lawyer carlos fierro have received more time in the slammer for killing a man while drivin...  More »

should lawyer carlos fierro have received more time in the slammer for killing a man while driving drunk? a lot of people are sounding off about it on feedback four. and others say there was a way for him to get a much tougher sentence. joe vigil joins us with our top story. prosecutors could have pushed for even more time behind bars for minute thumbnail 10:00 pm fierro--but decided not to. for the vehicular homicide charge carlos fierro got 6 years in prison for killing william tenorio while driving drunk. that is the maximum sentence in new mexico for vehicular homicide. with good behavior fierro could spend a total of just three years behind bars. but prosecutors could have pushed for the crime to be considered a serious violent offense. if a judge would have signed off on it---fierro would have been required to do 85% of the sentence... more than 5 years in prison. "the serious violent offense i think would apply in this case not only does linda atkinson with the dwi resource center think it applies--she says it should have been pushed in this case. "a vehicle tears through a human being it's serious and violent and you leave them in the street and don't know if their alive or dead." angela pacheco prosecuted the case and says she was going to push for the serious violent offense. minute thumbnail 10:01 pm but prosecutors and the defense ended up agreeing on a plea deal..in part because there were discussions of a possible new trail because the jury couldn't reach a verdict one a charge of leaving the scene of an accident. as part of the deal it was agreed that the crime would not be considered a serious violent offense. and fierro could not appeal. pacheco says the tenorio family didn't want another trial--they wanted closure. and pachecho says she respected those wishes and agreed to the plea. linda atkinson says dwi records really don't indicate how many defendants get more time because they're deemed a serious violent offender. but madd officials tell us they encourage victims to ask for the extra time when it comes to sentencing. fierro isn't the only one to face charges in the crash. today--- a judge said there is enough evidence to put fierro's passenger on trial for vehicular homicide as well. but the judge also said in court-- the prosecution's case is weak -- and minute thumbnail 10:02 pm that former state police sergeant alfred lovato probably won't be convicted.  « Less