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9:48 a.m. • 2-10-12

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Driver Pleads Guilty to Running Down Pedestrian


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Doroteo Hernandez, road rage suspect
Doroteo Hernandez, road rage suspect

A Raleigh man pleaded guilty Monday to trying to run over a pedestrian who yelled at him to slow down.

Doroteo Calles Hernandez, 23, of 605-A Charleston Road, pleaded guilty to assault with intent to kill, hit-and-run and driving while impaired. He was originally charged with attempted murder but pleaded guilty to the assault charge as part of a deal with prosecutors.

David Barber, 51, told police he and his girlfriend were walking their dog in the area of Jeffries Street and Dana Drive in southwest Raleigh on March 17 when a vehicle sped past and he yelled at the driver to slow down.

The driver circled the block and returned to run him over, Barber said.

The driver left the scene, but not before losing control and hitting a tree. The damaged car left a trail of leaked fluid from the scene of the attack to Hernandez's apartment less than a mile away.

Barber suffered two bones broken in his leg and said he continues to undergo physical therapy.

Still, Barber and his girlfriend, Cissy McKissick, said in court Monday that they have no ill will toward Hernandez and hope he turns his life around.

"Hopefully, he will get the help he needs to deal with his anger and any drinking problem he might have," Barber said. "He just was a good kid that did the absolute worst thing someone could do. And why he did that, he needs to figure that out. Everybody deserves one chance."

"I wish to let him know that I bear him no ill will and that I hope desperately that he doesn't allow this to be the pattern for his life," McKissick said.

Defense attorney Mike Klinkosum said Hernandez is a good person who made a bad choice.

"He got scared and he left and then he immediately came back, and one of the first things that he admitted to was that he was the driver of the car," Klinkosum said.

Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway sentenced Hernandez to 31 to 47 months in prison on all charges, with the sentences to be served at the same time.

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have placed a detainer on Hernandez, who is in the country illegally. After his prison sentence is over, ICE agents will deport him.

RELATED TOPICS: Southwest Raleigh, Raleigh

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Joshnc2 said it right. (My comment about it didn't make it past the editorialists - and I wasn't nasty either.)

"It really has no bearing if this guy is an illegal alien or not. It doesn't matter."

So you are saying if the guy wasn't here in the first place that this crime would have still happened?

NotFromHere

Heard of identy theft?

OK I just don't get it. How do these illegal aliens get a car and a drivers license without any proper id, social security card or insurance? I thought it was mandatory now to have a social security number to get a drivers license. And having just purchased a car a few days ago I know I had to get the title notarized and I had to show proof of insurance at the DMV. So how come they seem to get drivers licenses and cars without having to produce all the paperwork the DMV demands from me?

I feel that the government isn't doing enough to make sure people coming into the US are taking the proper channels to become citizens. This guy had a place of residence and a vehicle but yet he wasn't a US citizen. But how can we blame a person who is trying to provide a better life for their families? I would probably make the same sacrifice. Also we need to come down on the companies who hire illegal immigrants because they are the source of the problem. If they weren't so concern with keeping low overhead then most probably wouldn't hire someone who is not a US citizen. But the real problem in the case is the fact that this young man felt he had to try to take someone else's life because they were angry about him speeding through the neighborhood. For that, I think he deserves what he gets.

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