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SEARCHThe troopers had stopped on northbound Interstate 15 to check on another motorist who police said had fallen asleep at the wheel when they were fatally struck.
After hours of statements from the families of the two officers, a Las Vegas judge gave Jemarcus Williams the maximum sentence possible for killing Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt. Michael Abbate and trooper Alberto Felix while driving in the early hours of Nov. 30 : between 16 and 40 years.
Williams, 46, who appeared before Judge Susan Johnson after pleading guilty in April to two counts of DUI resulting in death, said he regrets getting behind the wheel, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports.
“I hate the stupid, ignorant decision that I made, which ultimately ended up having devastating and traumatic effects,” Williams said at his sentencing hearing on Tuesday.
The families of Abbate and Felix filled the room alongside uniformed officers showing support for their colleagues. The pair had stopped on northbound Interstate 15 near D Street to check on another motorist who police said had fallen asleep at the wheel when they were struck.
“You and your family may believe that the punishment that I impose today is harsh and maybe even unfair, but it’s not the death sentence that you gave to Sgt. Abbate and trooper Felix,” Johnson told Williams, whose relatives were also present at the hearing.