Tulare County hit and run driver gets two years in prison

VISALIA, Calif (KFSN) -- The family of Jeremiah Mills hopes no other family has to endure the pain they've experienced in the last year.

But they believe that's a real possibility when Armando Cisneros becomes a free man again.

A judge sentenced Cisneros to two years in state prison on Wednesday.

Action News cameras weren't allowed in the courtroom.

"Somebody's going to have to be in our position again, cause he's going to do the same thing again," Doug Mills said. "Somebody in this community is going to die because that man is out on the street."

In January of 2017, Mills was riding his motorcycle on Highway 137 near Lindsay, when Cisneros, then 25, pulled out in front of Mills.

Mills hit the back of Cisneros' car and was thrown off his bike.

Cisneros took off, and Mills' family says he left him there to die.

"When you cause an accident and you know somebody is laying there dying, you call 911, you don't take off and disappear for over a day which is what happened in this case," said Tulare County Assistant District Attorney David Alavezos.

Cisneros turned himself in the following day.

Prosecutors couldn't prove that he had been drunk because officers couldn't give him a test at the time of the crash.

But they know he has a history of driving under the influence.

He got a DUI as a minor, and another one in 2010.

In this case, he was charged with hit and run causing death.

"He's just lucky he didn't get charged with a DUI on this one, and he knows that's why he left the scene," said Angela Mills, Jeremiah's widow. "Cause he knows he was drunk and he basically just showed that he could beat the system."

Mills' family is thankful for all the support they've received.

They want Jeremiah to be remembered as a loving father and husband who always looked out for his own.