According to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney, Juan Morales Guerra was sentenced to 1-4 years in prison last week.
The El Salvador national was found guilty in absentia back in March of "Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting, Resulting in Serious Personal Injury."
Evidence presented at trial established that on May 23rd, 2022, he crashed his Acura MDX in Brentwood at approximately 9:50 p.m., leaving a pedestrian he struck helpless and with permanent brain damage.
DA Tierney did not hold back. “This is yet another tragic example of how so-called ‘bail reform’ has eroded public safety and accountability,” he said.
The victim was transported to South Shore University Hospital, where he underwent an emergency craniotomy.
Law enforcement found Morales Guerra’s vehicle parked in front of his home on June 8th. When brought into custody for an interview with the police, he confirmed himself as the driver of the vehicle on the night in question, and recalled “hitting someone or something with his car” before driving away.
He was promptly placed under arrest and formally arraigned on September 13th.
Though they had their man, due to ire-inducing bail language in New York State, the District Attorney’s Office was forced to stand idly by as Morales Guerra was released under non-bail eligible technicality.
The admitted offender subsequently fled the coop.
“Despite the serious nature of the charges and potential for substantial incarceration, the court was compelled by New York law to release this defendant back onto the streets without any form of security,” Tierney noted. “Unsurprisingly, the defendant soon thereafter hopped a flight to El Salvador in order to evade justice.”
Considerably complicating the prosecution’s timeline, Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven Pilewski was ultimately able to issue a bench warrant for Morales Guerra after he failed to appear in court on May 10th, 2023.
Two years later, justice for the pedestrian is finally taking shape.
“While my office was able to proceed through trial and sentencing in his absence,” Tierney added, “it is a sad state that our legislators have enabled him to flee.”
“We remain actively engaged with our federal partners, and we will not rest until he is returned to Suffolk County to serve his sentence.”