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Jury recommends probation after defendant pleads guilty in 2022 manslaughter case
An Eagle Lake woman was spared from serving any jail time but will have to ensure she is a model citizen after being handed a 10-year verdict by a jury who recommended community supervision, or probation, after she opted to plead guilty to manslaughter.
Aaliyah Dominiq Almanza, 24, heard her sentencing at the Colorado County Courthouse March 13 after a jury deliberated whether to give her a recommended sentence of 2 to 20 years for pleading guilty to manslaughter for causing the death of Tyler Joe Blair, an 8-year-old, in a car accident on July 17, 2022. Judge William D. Old II presided over the case.
Given that the recommended sentence was 10 years, the maximum to qualify for probation with no jail time, Almanza, due to her clean criminal record, was afforded a second lease on life, which the jury ultimately decided was her verdict, alongside a $10,000 fine.
Faces full of shock and flooded tears covered the courtroom floor occupied by the family of Tyler, confused at what they heard, trying to make sense of the verdict Almanza was given.
The trial lasted less than two days as multiple witnesses testified, including Tyler’s mother, Jessica Blair, who was driving the car that Almanza struck. Almanza admitted to prosecutors and jurors that she was “speeding,” at 82 mph in a 50 zone, and that her mind was “everywhere” when asked by Colorado County District Attorney Jay Johannes if her “full attention was on the road,” ultimately causing the deadly accident.
Almanza took the witness stand herself after pleading guilty to the charge, putting her fate in the hands of the 12 jurors, admitting that while she did cause the accident having made the decision to speed up a hill in the opposite lane in a “no passing zone,” she had no intent in hurting anyone and relayed her remorse as she cried, attempting to apologize to the family.
“When I was in the hospital, the first thing I asked my sister was if anyone was hurt,” said Almanza. “She said accidents happen and that I can’t beat myself if someone passed away. I never tried to hurt anyone. I felt like no one would understand what I would have to carry for the rest of my life. I am so, so, so sorry. I hope to get a second chance.”
Tyler’s fami ly didn’t embrace the sentiment shared by Almanza, feeling the words were just “empty,” visibly nodding no’s in the courtroom to show their unacceptance of the attempted apology by Almanza.
Closing statements were heard by both sides, encouraging the jury to make a sound decision in a case that ultimately left both parties without a sense of victory.
Almanza’s attorneys, trial lawyers Wade Smith and Matthew J. Hefti of Looney, Smith & Conrad, argued that Almanza is more than aware of what her decisions that day ultimately led to and has already paid the price of living with her actions every day, emphasizing that she had already accepted responsibility and made no excuses.
“She is not someone we need to remove from society,” said Hefti. “Aaliyah has chosen to put her life and future into your hands. She’s accepted responsibility. She is not someone who needs to be sent to prison to learn a lesson. She is not someone who continues to make bad decisions or exhibit bad behavior. You have to consider the type of crime this was; there was no intent.”
The defense reminded jurors that the decision she made that day resulted in a life lost, with the family having no ways of bringing back the joy of having children, unable to do so.
“Aaliyah made a bad decision,” said Johannes. “She made a decision to pass on heavy, stacked traffic and did so twice. In doing so she took the life of an 8-year-old child, an only child, with parents that have no capability of having more children. She told you she was distracted. They say she got her punishment and took responsibility. You heard Jessica testify, she is broken. They’re not going to get probation for not seeing their child for the rest of their life. This is a penitentiary case.”
Ultimately, the jury sided with the defense, recognizing Almanza’s clean criminal history thus far and opting to pursue probationary measures for the Eagle Lake woman. Almanza’s sentencing is set for April 22 to hear her official probationary outcome.
Tyler’s great grandmother, Rita Herzik relayed just how much she missed her grandson, not having his happiness and presence anymore.
“I miss him,” said Herzik. “He’s not here to ride the gator with grandpa anymore. He would have every beanie baby on top of him at night when he’d sleep. He would come in and say, ‘hi ma-ma’ and go straight to his room to play with his beanie babies. We don’t have that anymore.”
Ashley Meyer, the best friend of Jessica Blair and family and honorary auntie to Tyler highlighted his love for Pokémon given that he was just eight years old, showcased by the groups of family members wearing Pokémon shirts at the courthouse that day.
“He was eight years old; he didn’t get a life to live,” said Meyer. “He wanted to be an engineer, a few months prior he said he wanted to be a Pokémon trainer. He was on the way to art camp. We just want him to be remembered for who he was.”
Almanza’s lawyers emphasized that despite the favorable outcome, there were no winners in the trial, sympathizing with the Blair family for suffering an “unspeakable loss.” Regardless, they felt the jury recognized that Almanza accepted responsibility and deserved to have a chance at writing her wrongs.
“We believe that this was a probation case, which is why we went to trial, because that was a disagreement between us in the state on that,” said Hefti and Smith. “We think at the end of the day, the community of Colorado County agreed with us on that. Those are 12 citizens who represent the community. She is relieved to a certain extent, but she’s been living with this, in the grief of it, ever since it happened. She’s got a debt to society to pay, and she’ll be doing that through her probation, for the next 10 years. But we don’t think that the gravity of what happened will never leave her.”
Almanza, her family and the father and mother of Tyler were asked for statements by the Citizen but have not commented as of press time.
