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Jose Menjivar was sentenced to 365 days of work release for a prior DUI, just four days before the fatal crash in Broomfield. Prosecutors said they sought jail time.
BROOMFIELD, Colo. — The man accused of killing a mother and her teenage son while driving drunk was sentenced to work release days before the fatal crash for a prior DUI, but was out of custody awaiting an open bed in the work release program.
Jose Menjivar, 37, is accused of causing the Dec. 12 crash near Main Street and Miramonte Boulevard in Broomfield that killed Melissa Powell and Riordan Powell. He was formally charged last week with vehicular homicide and other counts related to the crash.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Broomfield Police Department, witnesses estimated that Menjivar was driving his pickup between 80 mph and 100 mph in a 40 mph zone before the crash. Those witnesses reported that he passed several vehicles by driving on the double yellow centerline.
He struck Melissa Powell’s vehicle as she made a left turn from Miramonte onto Main Street, the affidavit says. The force of the crash sent her vehicle into a tree. Melissa Powell was pronounced dead at the scene. Her son died at the hospital.
Menjivar was also taken to a hospital for his injuries. Officers inspected his vehicle and noticed “an overwhelming odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage,” per the affidavit, along with at least two empty beer cans and an open beer case inside.
Court records show that Menjivar had multiple prior DUI convictions and had just been sentenced on Dec. 8 in Boulder County District Court for a DUI from 2016.
At the time, according to the 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors argued for Menjivar to be sentenced to one year in jail effective immediately. A spokeswoman for the DA’s office said that prosecutors believed Menjivar was a “danger to the community” and argued for jail time.
However, the judge ordered him to be sentenced to 365 days of work release instead. Over an objection from the DA’s office, Menjivar was allowed to wait out of custody for a bed in the work release program to open up.
He was free and waiting for that bed at the time of the crash that killed Melissa Powell and her son Riordan. According to the DA’s office, the one year of work release would have required Menjivar to remain in jail except when authorized to leave for work.
At sentencing, the judge noted that Menjivar had served 100 days in jail earlier in the case and then tested sober for a significant period of time while the case was pending. The DA’s office acknowledged those were significant factors, but said they still recommended straight jail time.
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