Houston man, Rogelio Alberto Guardado sentenced to 20 years jail in plea deal after running over his ex girlfriend numerous times following break up.
A 72-year-old Houston, Texas man has been sentenced to 20 years jail after running over his ex-girlfriend four times, nearly severing the woman in half – prosecutors said Monday.
The jail term comes after Rogelio Alberto Guardado pleading guilty to aggravated assault of a family member causing serious bodily injury, The Houston Chronicle reported, citing Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.
The sentencing follows the man agreeing to a plea deal last week as his case was set to go to trial.
Guardado ran over the 41-year-old woman, identified as San Juanita Herrera on Sept. 11, 2016 with his ‘work truck’ after she saw him slashing her car tires outside her apartment, Ogg said in a statement.
‘He tried to kill her and she wouldn’t die,’ Ogg said. ‘Domestic violence fuels our murder rate. We are lucky she was strong enough to survive.’
Ogg said witnesses tried to intervene and to stop Guardado. He reportedly fled the scene after running over her a fourth time.
It wasn’t until eight days later before police arrested Guardado.
Domestic assault led to female victim spending two months in hospital and two years in a wheelchair.
The incident led to the woman suffering broken ribs, a shattered pelvis, two broken legs, head trauma and life-threatening internal injuries, according to prosecutors.
The woman’s injuries put her in the hospital for months afterward and left her dependent on a wheelchair for two years, Ogg said.
The woman, using a walker, came in to court to testify against her abuser,
Houston police arrested him eight days later.
The woman suffered broken ribs, a shattered pelvis, two broken legs, head trauma and life-threatening internal injuries, according to prosecutors. She spent two months in the hospital and two years in a wheelchair.
The woman, using a walker, came in to court to testify against her abuser, Assistant District Attorney Nicci Campbell said.
‘She was incredibly brave,’ said Campbell. ‘She told about how this was someone she loved, someone she trusted and how bad things got after they broke up. She told about hearing her bones being crushed under the tires and seeing her own blood on the ground. Her body was essentially severed in half.’
District Judge Hazel Jones in sentencing Guardado to 20 years in prison stated the accused man not being eligible for parole until he has served at least half the sentence per state law KHOU reported.
Prosecutors had been prepared to go to trial and ask for the maximum sentence of life in prison prior to last week’s plea deal.
