A 37-year-old illegal immigrant with a history of drunk driving convictions has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after killing a mother and her son in a high-speed, alcohol-fueled crash in Colorado last December.
José Guadalupe Menjivar-Alas, a citizen of El Salvador, pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide stemming from the fatal crash on December 12, 2023.
Driving at an estimated speed of 80 to 100 miles per hour, Menjivar was intoxicated when he struck the victims, according to Fox 31.
Menjivar’s criminal history reveals a troubling pattern of dangerous behavior. Records show he had been deported from the United States four times—once in 2009, twice in 2012, and again in 2014. Despite his removal, Menjivar managed to re-enter the country repeatedly.
The Boulder District Attorney’s Office stated that Menjivar had been convicted of at least five DUIs since 2007, including four in Boulder, Colorado. Court documents also reveal he had pleaded guilty in three other cases related to impaired driving.
Just days before the fatal accident, Menjivar appeared in court on December 8, 2023, for another DUI-related case. Prosecutors argued he posed a clear danger to the community and sought an immediate sentence of one year in jail.
However, the judge instead sentenced Menjivar to 365 days of work release and two years of probation, allowing him to remain out of custody while waiting for a spot in the work release program.
“The court allowed the defendant to wait out-of-custody for a bed in the work release program—over our office’s objection,” the Boulder DA’s office told Fox 31. The leniency in this case may have contributed to the tragic outcome just days later.
On the night of December 12, Menjivar was driving while heavily intoxicated. After being transported to the hospital following the crash, his blood alcohol level was found to be three times the legal limit. Menjivar later told officers he could not recall the accident.
The high-speed collision claimed the lives of a mother and her son, devastating their family and community.
This week, Menjivar was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the deaths he caused. While the sentence brings some measure of accountability, critics argue it underscores systemic failures in immigration enforcement and the judicial handling of repeat offenders.
Menjivar’s case highlights significant gaps in the system, from inadequate measures to prevent re-entry after deportation to lenient sentencing for individuals with extensive criminal histories.
For the victims’ loved ones, the sentence comes too late to undo the damage caused by Menjivar’s reckless actions.
The tragedy has reignited debates over how to better prevent repeat offenses and protect communities from individuals with proven records of endangerment.