The crash killed 18-year-old National Guard Soldier Fernando Buenrostro in March. Action news got the first interview with the parents of the defendant, Jesse Fuentes.
For the fourth time, the fate of Jesse Fuentes Jr., has been postponed. The 24-year-old does not deny killing at reservist Fernando Buenrostro Jr., back in March.
Fuentes pleaded guilty to hit-and-run just two months after the crime. But his family says Fuentes deserves some lenience.
"We're extremely sorry about the family's loss but they're putting my son out to be a monster," said the defendant's father, Jesse Fuentes, Sr.
The police report on the crash says Buenrostro deserves some of the blame for the crash. Witnesses say he ran a stop sign on his motorized scooter right before Fuentes hit him. Instead of helping the man he just hit, Fuentes kept driving, despite knowing what he had done.
"My son was totally wrong for not stopping," said Fuentes, Sr. "I don't know why he didn't stop. It could've happened to anyone."
Police arrested Fuentes four days after the crash as the Buenrostro family had just begun to grieve.
"My closure with my son and with family that's already been taken care of, you know we're grieving and he's in our hearts," said the victim's father Fernando Buenrostro, Sr.
Fuentes is scheduled to be sentenced in two weeks. The most he can get is four years in prison. The probation department recommended one year in jail.
