The surviving families of three minors who died as passengers of a speeding vehicle are outraged after Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker reached a surprise plea agreement with the man accused of driving the car that killed their loved ones.
Ramon Maldonado-Vasquez, 21, was indicted on May 4, 2023, in Cullman County. He is charged with three counts of reckless murder for taking the lives of Dailan Kameron Jennings, 16; Cayden Blake Britt, 15; and Evan Manuel Magana, 15. He is also charged with attempting to elude police, DUI, being a minor in possession of alcohol and reckless endangerment. Maldonado-Vasquez was arrested six months after the incident.
The indictment accuses Maldonado-Vasquez of speeding in excess of 100 miles per hour while eluding police, while under the influence of alcohol. The three victims lost their lives when Maldonado-Vasquez struck a tree at full speed, court records state.
Maldonado-Vasquez, who was less than two weeks shy of his 18th birthday at the time of the event, which was on Nov. 11, 2022, and was granted youthful offender status in the prosecution.
Since then, members of the victims' families told 1819 News that they had been in contact with Crocker's office and were under the impression that the state would not be accepting a negotiated plea deal and that the case was heading to trial.
That changed on Monday, when the DA's office notified the families that Maldonado-Vasquez's attorney had agreed to plead guilty to some of the counts. In turn, the state was recommending a sentence of 25 years. The court date was already scheduled.
"[T]he Defendant intends to change his plea to Guilty of 3 Counts of Murder and 1 Count of DUI. The State will recommend a 25-year sentence to be served in the Alabama Department of Corrections."
"It just came out of the blue," said Chrishelle Britt, Cayden Britt's mother. "This whole time, for three years and eight months, all we've ever heard from Champ was, 'We're going to trial.' Always. And then we got this email. I felt completely blindsided."
Multiple families relayed sentiments similar to Britt's, telling 1819 News they were never told about the possibility of a negotiated plea and that they would be notified before any final decisions.
Sandra and Francisco Rodriguez, the mother and stepfather of the 16-year-old victim Evan Manuel Magana, told 1819 News about the difficulty they've experienced since the accident and the loss of their son.
"It's something that's still alive, and it's going to be forever alive," Francisco said. "It's something that we can never get rid of. I mean, it's our son. We never get to see him again. He got taken away from us."
He continued, "He was a very, very happy person. He was always making people laugh. He was always making friends. Yeah, he was a very lovable person. Out of nowhere, he'd just give you hugs, make you laugh. He'd make your day go by quick, and enjoy every minute he was around."
Sandra said that, on the night of the accident, witnesses claimed that Evan and the others did not want to get into the car with Maldonado-Vasquez but eventually relented.
"They didn't want to get in the car with him," Sandra said. "Then he started to bully them, calling them a lot of names. Like, 'you guys are going now.' You guys are this, you guys are that. 'You came with me; you're going with me.' That's some of the stuff that we've heard. But that day, it changed our lives forever. And it hurts. It's never going to go away because the pain is there. We just want justice for our kids."
The family was audibly distraught at the sense of betrayal at the DA reaching a plea deal without informing them first, expressing dismay that Maldonado-Vasquez could be released before his 50th birthday, after claiming the lives of three people.
"That sentence, it, to us, is like we're getting a slap in the face," Francisco continued. "Because I just think that if you take somebody else's life – because he had control of that car and he made the choice to do what he did. So, for me, that makes him responsible for what he did. And I just believe that if you take another person's life away, you don't have the right to live your own life."
Britt also expressed frustration at the DA's office since the accident, and especially after the surprise plea deal.
"[Crocker] went back on every word he's ever said for three years and eight months," Britt continued.
"It's a Class A felony, 20 to 99 years. And the DA, behind our backs, proposed 25 years."
Court records confirm a July 31 court date for Maldonado-Vasquez to enter his plea, stating "the Court has been informed that an agreement has been reached between the Defendant and the State."
"Right is right and wrong is wrong," Britt concluded. Justice deserves to see its day, whether that's in court or out of court, but you don't diminish people you are elected to protect."
Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the suspect's age.
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