MIAMI (WSVN) - A South Florida family is filled with outrage after, the believe, the sentence for the man charged with fatally striking their loved one is not enough. They’re now calling for justice to be served.
Adrian Morales Rodriguez, a Cuban artist and activist, is accused in the fatal crash that claimed the life of Steven Lester in Southwest Miami-Dade on Christmas Eve in 2015.
The suspect has not spent a day in jail despite allegedly trying to leave the scene. On Wednesday, a judge assured he won’t go to prison for it, opting instead for house arrest and probation.
Rodriguez had spent three years in South Florida awaiting trial. Wednesday afternoon, he pleaded no contest to his felony hit-and-run charge.
In court, Rodriguez expressed remorse through a translator. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry to the family of this man,” he said. “I am devastated.”
Upon hearing the sentencing, Lester’s family said the punishment is too light.
They said the only reason Rodriguez didn’t leave the scene is because two good Samaritans jumped in front of the car to prevent him from fleeing.
Investigators said Lester was crossing Southwest 223rd Street and 112th Avenue when he was fatally struck.
Rodriguez’s attorney denies that he was planning to leave the scene. “He never left the scene,” he said.
Lester’s older brother, Johnny Lester, pleaded with a judge for justice, Wednesday.
“Adrian Morales Rodriguez killed our brother, Steven, left him laying on the side of the road like a dead animal, and not face one day in prison,” he said in court. “He was loved by many people in the community and his church.”
Rodriguez was sentenced to eight years probation, two years of house arrest and is not allowed to drive for two years.
He plans to serve out his probation in Spain. It is possible he will not be able to return to the United States.
Rodriguez will not go to jail unless he violates his probation.
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