LUBBOCK, Texas — The family of Jonathan Pesqueda, an 18-year-old who was killed after a head-on crash on South Loop 289 in 2017, called Alexander May‘s sentencing “a slap in the face.”
May was found guilty of manslaughter on Friday and sentenced to 150 days of jail time and 10 years of probation by a Lubbock jury on Monday. May was also sentenced to jail for 72 hours on the anniversary of the crash for every year of his probation.
Court records said May’s vehicle was seen speeding westbound in the eastbound lanes of South Loop 289 in surveillance footage from the Science Spectrum before the deadly crash. May had a blood alcohol level of 0.232, according to an arrest warrant. The legal limit to drive in Texas is 0.08.
After the crash, Pesqueda was taken by ambulance to University Medical Center and pronounced deceased.
Katherine Tarango, Pesqueda’s aunt and God Mother said she thought the jury would “try to make a change” with drunk driving in Lubbock County. “Now it’s going to continue to happen,” Tarango said. She also said probation should not have been an option to begin with.
Shannell Alvarez, Pesqueda’s girlfriend, said, “[May] gets to see his family. We don’t get to see Jonathan until we make it to heaven.” Alvarez was hoping to get justice on Monday, but she said that was not what ended up happening.
Tarango called the probation sentencing “a slap in the face.” Tarango said, “When you are privileged, you get these kinds of exceptions.”
Samantha Cardenas, who graduated from Lubbock High by Pesqueda’s side, is also a victim of drunk driving. Cardenas described Pesqueda as “compassionate and charming.”
“It could’ve been anybody that night, but it was him. So, as you go to sleep tonight, think about how it could’ve been your loved one,” Cardenas said. “He didn’t get to say goodbye to his family.”
Cardenas said May did not “feel sorry for what he did.” Cardenas also said, “the justice system failed us.”
“How many people have to die before you understand that drinking and driving is not okay?” Cardenas said. “I don’t want this to continue in Lubbock… I believe there should be a change.”
May’s defense attorney, Chuck Lanehart, called the sentencing “a fair verdict.” Lanehart said May apologized to Pesqueda’s family and that he would “never ever drink and drive again.”
