A mother's tearful plea for DUI killer's punishment

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A mother whose son was killed didn't get a sense of justice in court Monday. A drunk driver killed her son while he worked construction in downtown Clovis last year.

Maria Quintanilla could barely speak as she tearfully asked a judge to sentence Justin Desatoff to life in prison.

"I would give my life to not be here today because this man has killed my only son," she said through an interpreter.

Desatoff had a BAC of .17 and Clovis police say a traffic officer was trying to pull him over when he accelerated and plowed into a work zone. The crash last October killed 19-year-old construction worker Lismar Montenegro and left Quintanilla with a huge hole in her heart.

"Because of that, I'm sick," Quintanilla said. "And then I'm going to die of sadness and pain any time."

Ten months later, Desatoff has admitted to vehicular manslaughter while driving drunk. The maximum punishment for that crime is four years in prison. Desatoff got two, and with the time he's already served, he could get out in two months. That's just the way the laws on drunk driving are written.

Prosecutor Trevor Oppliger says the only way to see stronger punishment is to convince legislators to change the laws.

"Think about the families and how this affects them and how this crime affects them and make good decisions unlike Mr. Desatoff, who made a poor decision," Oppliger said.

Quintanilla drove up from southern California to let the judge know Desatoff's crime essentially ended her life as well as her son's.

"May God forgive him because I'm not going to be able to," Quintanilla said.

She went home without satisfaction, and without hearing any kind of personal apology from the man responsible.