Drunken driver who killed girl on prom night sentenced to 32 years

Edin Palacios, 26, is charged with murder and evading arrest in connection to a police chase and crash, which occurred about 1 a.m. Saturday May 14, 2016 on the service road of the North Freeway near Tidwell Edin Palacios, 26, is charged with murder and evading arrest in connection to a police chase and crash, which occurred about 1 a.m. Saturday May 14, 2016 on the service road of the North Freeway near Tidwell Photo: handout Photo: handout Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Drunken driver who killed girl on prom night sentenced to 32 years 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

A man who was drunk when he crashed into and killed a Houston teenager as she was coming home on her prom night was sentenced Friday to 32 years in prison.

Edin Palacios, a native of Guatemala, pleaded guilty to a felony murder charge on Monday. Police said on May 14, 2016, he ignored a police officer trying to pull him over on suspicion of drunken driving and ran a red light, killing 18-year-old Jocelynn Valero and injuring her date.

Prosecutors said Valero and her prom date were returning home from IHOP, where they ate after prom, when she was killed.

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Palacios, 28, will be deported after he serves his sentence, his lawyer, Emily Detoto said.

Between Palacios' guilty plea and sentencing, Detoto filed a motion to set aside the indictment and instead have Palacios charged with causing death while evading a police officer, which carries a lower sentence, she said. That motion wasn’t granted.

Palacios would have pleaded guilty earlier, but the state didn’t want to waive the right to a jury trial and couldn't come to agreement with Detoto on a sentence, Detoto said. The state asked for a 50-year sentence for the murder charge, she said.

Officials with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Houston area's notable crimes of 2018 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

While in jail, Palacios attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, took classes through Houston Community College and participated in religious activities, Detoto said.

“It’s tragic because a life was cut short, but what’s also tragic is that my client had otherwise lived an impeccable life,” his lawyer said. “He was educated; he had goals also. There’s no winners here at all.”

Valero and her date were seniors at Yes Prep North Central.

The day her daughter died, Macrina Valero, asked for justice for the teen, whom she described as a "good, respectful" girl who aspired to become a detective.

"She was everything to me," Valero said in a post distributed across social media that Saturday afternoon.

St. John Barned-Smith contributed.