NORRISTOWN — A jury acquitted a Norristown man of felony murder by vehicle, finding that he was not careless or grossly negligent during the single-vehicle crash that killed his girlfriend and her 3-year-old daughter, who was a passenger. in the vehicle.

But in what appeared to be a split verdict, a Montgomery County jury of seven women and five men found 23-year-old Brayan Alejandro Gonzalez-Paez guilty on Jan. 23 of the lesser misdemeanor charge of crash resulting in death while not properly licensed. On October 13, 2024, the crash along Valley Forge Road in Upper Merion Township killed his girlfriend, Anjelica Guadalupe Amaya Briceno, 20, and her 3-year-old daughter.

Gonzalez-Paez, of the 600 block of West Main Street, showed no outward signs of emotion as she listened, with the help of a Spanish translator, as the jury foreman announced the verdict after 2 1/2 hours of deliberations late Thursday.

“We are very happy with the verdict. Justice was served today. The jury saw that this case was overcharged and that the investigation was not fully completed by the police and the district attorney’s office, and now our client has the chance to be a free man. Our client just wants to be free because he deserves it,” he said in the verdict. defense attorney Scott Frank Frame reacted.

Describing Gonzalez-Paez’s reaction when the decision was announced to him, Frame added, “I can say that the reaction I received was a big hug.”

During the hearing, Frame and fellow defense attorney Prince Yakubu argued prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence that Gonzalez-Paez drove carelessly or with gross negligence, elements of felony vehicular homicide charges.

Frame and Yakubu instead suggested that the crash occurred because another unknown driver in a vehicle driving behind Gonzalez-Paez became “aggressive and road rage,” causing him to speed up. Defense attorneys argued that the second vehicle tried to pass Gonzalez-Paez, forcing him off the road.

Frame and Yakubu argued there were many unanswered questions and reasonable doubt in the case.

But prosecutors Caroline Rose Goldstein and Courtney McMonagle argued that Gonzalez-Paez caused the double-fatal crash by driving more than 60 mph in a 35 mph zone on a dark road during a rainstorm. Citing testimony that Gonzalez-Paez was driving for a food delivery service at the time of the crash, Goldstein suggested the reason he was speeding was to get to the next destination to make more money.

Prosecutors argued that there was a significant risk that Gonzalez-Paez’s conduct could result in death or injury and that he should have known that the crash was the result of a careless or grossly negligent act with elements of vehicular homicide.

Goldstein sided with the investigation and prosecution’s evidence but respected the jury’s verdict.

“I believe there is sufficient evidence to prove vehicular homicide beyond a reasonable doubt. I appreciate the jury’s time and effort in this matter, and I am happy that this defendant was held accountable,” Goldstein said, adding that the misdemeanor charge for which Gonzalez-Paez was convicted included a finding of negligence under the law, but that He explained that the situation was not a sign of negligence. gross negligence.

“When I read this, the jury did not believe the defendant’s version of events, but found that it was due to negligence, not gross negligence,” Goldstein added.

Gonzalez-Paez faces a possible prison sentence of one to two years on the misdemeanor charge for crashes resulting in death while not properly licensed; This will likely include credit for the time he has spent in jail awaiting trial since his arrest 10 months ago.

“We will ask the judge for a sentence that is appropriate for what he did and provides justice for our victims,” Goldstein said.

Judge Steven T. O’Neill, who presided over the three-day hearing, sent Gonzalez-Paez to the county jail without bail to await a sentencing hearing.

Gonzalez-Paez, a Venezuelan native who authorities allege entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico on May 5, 2023, and is undocumented, also potentially faces a hearing before federal immigration officials.

Following the jury’s verdict, O’Neill convicted Gonzalez-Paez of additional summary traffic offenses, which carry fines but no jail time, including driving without a license, driving without insurance, speeding, and driving without proper restraints.

During the trial, defense attorneys argued, based on a report released by an accident reconstruction expert they hired, that an examination of the so-called “black box” of the vehicle and GPS data showed that Gonzalez-Paez was traveling within the speed limit at various times. He said he was speeding in the hours before the accident and that was the only time he claimed an aggressive driver was following him.

“We presented a defense case,” Yakubu said, adding that defense attorneys tried to give the jury the “full picture” of the events that happened that night.

Jurors watched police body camera footage of Gonzalez-Paez giving a statement to investigators from her hospital bed several hours after the crash. Gonzalez-Paez, who was injured in her leg, could not hold back her tears when asked to describe the accident.

During the interview, Gonzalez-Paez, who spoke with the help of a Spanish translator, claimed that he was working for a food delivery service at the time of the accident and was on his way to a local business to pick up an order. Gonzalez-Paez also claimed that he “suddenly emerged” from behind a car and passed him illegally, causing him to brake and lose control of the vehicle. Gonzalez-Paez said he could not get a specific description of the other car, according to his affidavit.

There were no security cameras at the scene of the accident. But defense attorneys argued that security camera footage showed another vehicle driving behind Gonzalez-Paez’s vehicle about 2.5 miles before the crash. The video footage was not sufficient to identify the second driver, according to testimony.

Frame and Yakubu argued that authorities did not adequately investigate the presence of a second vehicle and that Gonzalez-Paez did not receive “fair approval” from authorities.

“My client deserved better. This is America. We are better than that,” Frame argued.

Goldstein argued that local police and county detectives conducted a proper investigation.

“Despite an extensive search, no other vehicle was found. The police looked. But you can’t find something that doesn’t exist,” Goldstein argued.

The investigation began around 1:14 a.m. on Jan. 13, when Upper Merion police responded to a report of a crash involving injuries involving a single vehicle, a Toyota Yaris, that had crashed into a tree on Valley Forge Park Road, approximately 1,000 feet west of County. Line Road, according to a criminal complaint filed by Upper Merion Police Officer Daniel Mease and county Detective David Schanes.

Police said Gonzalez-Paez was outside the car and pulled the unresponsive 3-year-old girl away. The child was transported to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia, where he was pronounced dead at 2 a.m.

Briceno was found pinned and unresponsive in the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Briceno was rescued from where he was trapped by emergency response teams and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

In the autopsies performed on Briceno and the child, it was determined that they died due to multiple injuries and the manner of death was an accident.

The investigation determined that Gonzalez-Paez was traveling eastbound on Valley Forge Park Road at a speed of 60 mph or greater in a 35 mph zone.

“There was heavy rain at the time. There was a left bend in the road. “Gonzalez-Paez lost control of his vehicle,” Mease and Schanes wrote in the criminal complaint.

Investigators said there was a curve warning sign on the highway before the bend.

Authorities allege Gonzalez-Paez applied the brakes and drove the vehicle off the right side of the road into a grassy area. The vehicle spun counterclockwise, traveled 74 feet across a grassy area, and struck a tree at the front passenger door.

“The vehicle was circling clockwise around the tree. There was severe damage to the passenger side of the vehicle. The engine compartment was separated from the rest of the fuselage on the passenger side. None of the people in the vehicle were detained. Mease and Schanes claimed there was no child car seat in the car.

Additionally, according to the criminal complaint, the vehicle was not insured as required by law and Gonzalez-Paez did not have a valid driver’s license.

First Publication Date: November 1, 2024 09:07 EDT