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A judge on Wednesday sentenced a 30-year-old Mission man to six months in state jail on a charge of criminally negligent homicide after a jury found him guilty of lesser charges in an alleged 2019 drunk driving crash that killed an active duty service member.
Edward Leo Magallan went on trial on Feb. 13 on charges of intoxication manslaughter and manslaughter over accusations that he hit and killed 19-year-old Cassandra Julianna Perez at about 12:50 a.m. on Feb. 15, 2019 in the 3400 block of North 24th Avenue in Edinburg.
On Feb. 22, a jury instead found him guilty on charges of driving while intoxicated and criminally negligent homicide, court records indicate.
Instead of having the jury assess punishment against Magallan on the lesser charges, he elected to have state District Judge Noe Gonzalez sentence him.
Perez had been driving home to the Rio Grande Valley from San Antonio when her vehicle stalled on a service road, prosecutors said previously.
That’s when Magallan hit the back of Perez’s vehicle, which she was standing in front of, causing her death, according to prosecutors, who had alleged Magallan was under the influence of alcohol and controlled substances.
Magallan had previously said in court that Perez’s death was an accident.
He was also sentenced to five years probation.
