The victims' and the defendant's loved ones filled the courtroom yesterday, expecting Eduardo Raul Morales-Soriano to be sentenced to prison for the crash that killed a Marine corporal and his date Thanksgiving night 2006 in Columbia.
Howard County Circuit Judge Lenore R. Gelfman had accepted a guilty plea in September from Morales-Soriano, an illegal immigrant from Mexico whose blood-alcohol level was four times the legal limit at the time of the crash, authorities have said. And prosecutors said then that they would ask for an eight-year sentence.
But many of those family members gasped when Gelfman announced yesterday that she had rejected the plea agreement and instead ordered a trial.
"I do not find that the proposal, no matter how well thought-out, is adequate," the judge said.
Gelfman, who will not preside over any subsequent trial, did not further explain her reasoning. But Howard County State's Attorney Dario Broccolino said the judge apparently found an eight-year term to be "too little."
"We appreciate and understand the judge's thinking," Broccolino said after the proceeding yesterday. "We thought we had a fair and balanced plea negotiated. ... You never know. It's like a jury verdict."
Under the terms of the plea deal, Morales-Soriano, 26, of Laurel could have served a maximum of eight years. Because of factors including his age and history, state guidelines said Morales-Soriano should not get more than four years on each count.
If he goes to trial and is convicted on all counts, Morales-Soriano could face up to 20 years in prison.
Morales-Soriano had pleaded guilty in September to two counts of negligent manslaughter in the deaths of Cpl. Brian Mathews, 21, of Columbia and Jennifer Bower, 24, of Montgomery Village.
Morales-Soriano's Nissan Sentra slammed into the back of the red Toyota Corolla that Bower was driving. The car was stopped at a red light on Route 175 at the intersection of Route 108 in Columbia.
After accepting a plea, judges can reject it after reviewing victim impact statements and other evidence in a case. But attorney Christopher Brown said such a move is "very unusual."
"I don't know who the judge is or who the parties are, but sometimes the facts are very sensitive to the judge," said Brown, a professor emeritus at the University of Maryland School of Law and partner with the Brown, Goldstein & Levy law firm in Baltimore.
