Justin Michael Jones was sentenced to five years in prison today following a plea bargain on a Tampa DUI manslaughter charge, three counts of DUI with serious bodily injury and two misdemeanor charges of DUI with personal injury. The 28-year-old will also have to serve 10 years probation when he is released from prison.
The sentence comes after a February plea bargain that was accepted by a Hillsborough County judge. The DUI manslaughter plea was entered into without any pre-sentencing agreement on the length of the prison term according to a story in the Tampa Tribune’s on-line edition.
The fatal car crash took place following a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game. Jones was driving on Himes Avenue in Tampa in a Ford SUV. He had four passengers in the car with him when he ran a red light on West Hillsborough. His SUV was hit by a semi-tractor trailer. The truck was hauling cars when it hit Jones’ SUV at approximately 11:30 p.m. Dustin Alderman was killed in the crash and the truck driver plus the three other passengers in the car were all hospitalized. Jones had a blood-alcohol level of 0.131, above the 0.08 in which the state of Florida presumes intoxication. Alderman was 27-years-old at the time of his death.
Jones had been free on $30,000 bail but he was taken into custody following Judge Kimberly Fernandez’s sentence. Jones hugged and kissed his family before the sentencing. While his family was tearful in the courtroom, the Alderman’s had no comment following the sentencing.
