02/17/2006

By SAMUEL SPIES / Associated Press

An illegal immigrant with a history of drunken driving pleaded guilty
Friday to second-degree murder in an accident that killed a Mount Holly
teacher, closing a case that drew the attention of advocates for tougher
immigration laws.

Ramiro Gallegos, 26, was sentenced to roughly 14 years to 18 years in
prison for the death of Scott Gardner.

"It is difficult to face this gentleman ... who did not even stay to
help those who he hurt," Gardner's uncle, Terry Lee, said in a statement
to the court just before the sentencing. There is "no punishment great
enough for this man."

Authorities said Gallegos was intoxicated while driving a truck that
collided with a Subaru station wagon driven by Scott Gardner on July 16.
Gardner was killed, and his wife Tina was critically injured and
remained comatose for weeks in New Hanover Regional Medical Center in
Wilmington.

The Gardners' children, 5-year-old Jackson and 2-year-old Avery,
suffered minor injuries.

Gallegos, an orphan educated by his siblings, moved to the United States
from Mexico when he was 17, said his lawyer, William Peregoy. He has
three previous DWI convictions, but none resulted in his deportation.

http://www.wcnc.com/sharedcontent/AP...D8FR542O2.html