HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Michigan woman was sentenced to up to five years in prison Monday for crashing her car into a retention pond while driving under the influence and killing her three sons.
An Ottawa County judge sentenced Leticia Marie Gonzales to a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years in prison for operating under the influence causing serious injury. She also received 365 days in jail for each charge of moving violation causing death, to be served concurrently with credit for 71 days served.
Before hearing her sentence, Gonzales read a statement to the court in which she expressed remorse and asked the judge for mercy.
“I’m living in pain and remorse every day and I just want my boys to know that I’m sorry for everything," she said. "I lost everything I ever needed and I hate myself so much. I’ve been sentenced to life without them for the rest of my life, so I’m asking for forgiveness."
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Ottawa County police said Gonzales was driving her SUV in February 2022 when she veered off the side of a Holland Township road, hit a curb, and flipped into a nearby ice-covered retention pond.
Gonzales managed to escape the crash with minor injuries but her three sons, Jerome III, 4, Jeremiah, 3, and Josiah, 1, drowned while strapped into child-restraint seats. The three boys were trapped in the water for 10 to 17 minutes.
Jerome III and Jeremiah were pronounced dead at the scene. Josiah died several hours later at an area hospital.
Gonzales was initially charged with three counts of operating while intoxicated causing death. On the day of the crash, police said Gonzales took a prescribed dose of methadone, a drug sometimes prescribed to treat an opioid use disorder and pain relief. Gonzales later took another, unprescribed dose of methadone a few hours before the crash.
While Gonzales said she feels remorse over her sons' deaths and that she's been living with survivor’s guilt since the crash, WOOD-TV reported, Circuit Court Judge Jon Hulsing noted Gonzales's repeated drug use.
“This is not a one-time situation that you succumbed to pressures, and desires to use drugs. Rather, this seems to be a pattern and, unfortunately, your children paid the ultimate price for that,” Hulsing said.
In April, Gonzales pleaded no contest to one count of operating while intoxicated causing death. The plea agreement dropped two counts of the same charge and prosecutors recommended one year in jail.
Gonzales withdrew the plea after Hulsing said he would not honor the agreement, and instead would impose a sentence of four to 15 years in prison with credit for 41 days served.
On Aug. 28, Gonzales once again pleaded no contest, this time to one count of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury, and three misdemeanor charges of a moving violation causing death.
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Contributing: The Associated Press
Contact reporter Tess Ware at[email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @tess_journalist.