A young man who killed the driver while fleeing police in a stolen car in Middlesex County will spend the next decade in prison.
Samuel Villar, of Franklin in Somerset County, pleaded guilty in June to first-degree aggravated manslaughter. The crash killed 33-year-old Freehold resident Arturo Tlapa Luna.
On Monday, Villar, 21, was sentenced via Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Buck faces 12 years in state prison, according to Middlesex County District Attorney Yolanda Ciccone.
Villar was also sentenced to 10 years to serve at the same time on 4 counts of second-degree molesting assault and second-degree escape.
The twist of fate happened in the early morning hours of Nov. 9, 2022, on Highway Nine near the intersection with Spring Valley Road.
Luna was killed and his surviving family members who were passengers were seriously injured when their vehicle struck Villar after he ran a red light shortly after 2 a. m.
Old Bridge police responded to the scene: Villar was fleeing from Marlboro police in neighboring Monmouth County, after an attempted home invasion by car reported at the time of the crash.
In January, the state government released a police video and audio feed of the incident, which was the subject of state review by the regime because it involved police.
Footage from the Ring Doorbell camera showed Americans trying to get into several cars parked at homes along a residential street in Marlboro, as the user slowly drove toward the car.
A 17-year-old passenger with Villar at the time, prosecutors previously said, in a vehicle that had been reported stolen a month earlier in New Brunswick.
The released video clips also show the moment Villar lit a fireplace before hitting Luna’s car.
Villar will have to serve 85% of his 12-year sentence before he is eligible for parole (just over 10 years).
Upon release from prison, Villar would be on probation for five years and his driver’s license would be suspended for two years.
Villar was a 2021 graduate of Franklin High School, according to online records.
Luna was survived by his wife, two children and elderly father, who were all hospitalized after the crash.
A GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $80,000 for the family remembered Luna as a “kind, generous, unwavering husband, father, brother, son, colleague, and friend. “
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Samuel Villar, of Somerset, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in connection with the Highway Nine crash that killed Arturo Tlapa Luna of Freehold.
Learning
A young man who killed the driver while fleeing police in a stolen car in Middlesex County will spend the next decade in prison.
Samuel Villar, of Franklin in Somerset County, pleaded guilty in June to first-degree manslaughter. The twist of fate killed Arturo Tlapa Luna, 33, of Freehold.
On Monday, Villar, 21, was sentenced via Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Buck faces 12 years in state prison, according to Middlesex County District Attorney Yolanda Ciccone.
Villar was also sentenced to 10 years to serve at the same time on 4 counts of second-degree molesting assault and second-degree escape.
The twist of fate happened in the early morning hours of Nov. 9, 2022, on Highway Nine near the intersection with Spring Valley Road.
Luna was killed and surviving family members who were passengers were seriously hurt, when their vehicle was struck by Villar after he ran a red light just after 2 a.m.
Old Bridge police responded to the scene: Villar fleeing from Marlboro police in neighboring Monmouth County, after an attempted home invasion by car reported at the time of the crash.
In January, the state government released a police video and audio feed of the incident, which was routinely reviewed across the state because it concerned police.
Footage from the Ring Doorbell camera showed Americans trying to get into several cars parked at homes along a residential street in Marlboro, as the user slowly drove toward the car.
A 17-year-old passenger with Villar at the time, prosecutors previously said, in a vehicle that had been reported stolen a month earlier in New Brunswick.
The released video clips also show the moment Villar lit a fireplace before hitting Luna’s car.
Villar will have to serve 85% of his 12-year sentence before being eligible for parole (just over 10 years).
Upon release from prison, Villar would be on probation for five years and his driver’s license would be suspended for two years.
Villar is a 2021 graduate of Franklin High School, according to online records.
Luna was survived by his wife, two children and elderly father, who were all hospitalized after the crash.
A GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $80,000 for the family remembered Luna as a “kind, generous, unwavering husband, father, brother, son, colleague, and friend. “
Report a Correction ? | ? Contact our editorial team
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