WICHITA, Kan. — A 19-year-old drug dealer has been sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison for causing a deadly Wichita crash while chasing down someone who bolted with a bag of marijuana without paying.
The Wichita Eagle reportedthat Alejandro Cruz had the victim's father on his side. As the sentencing hearing was live-streamed on YouTube this week, Rajon Powell wrote in a chat box that he “would not like to see another life lost in all of this."
His son, 19-year-old Elias Powell, died from injuries he received in the June 27 car chase and wreck that also hurt two other men with him.
Judge Kevin O’Connor read the grieving father's comment aloud in court before handing down a sentence that was longer than what Cruz’s lawyer asked for but shorter than what prosecutor had recommended.
Court records said Cruz ultimately told authorities he drove “recklessly” during the chase because he “was only caring about getting his money or his drugs back.”
When it was his turn to speak, Cruz apologized, saying, “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
