Acosta gets 3 years

Noemi Acosta's emotional pleas for a second chance paid off Wednesday.

After a nail-biting, seven-hour deliberation, jurors sentenced the 21-year-old mother of two to three years in state prison for intoxication manslaughter for the April 2007 death of her third child, Jesus Navarrette IV.

Her charge, a second-degree felony, carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. 

"I feel extremely happy," said Jesus Navarrette III, her commonlaw husband of eight years. "Three years isn't bad at all."

Acosta will get credit for the time she's served in Ector County Detention Center since her June 2007 arrest. Offenders can apply for parole after 25 percent of their sentence has been served, so Acosta may be released fairly soon if the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles gives her favor.

"The jury obviously took a long time to consider the evidence and determined that this sentence was appropriate," said Ector County District Attorney Bobby Bland. "The jury has made their decision in this case, and we accept that."

Acosta's family tearfully embraced after the verdict was read at 7 p.m.

"I feel great, and so does Ms. Acosta," said defense attorney Matt Thomas. "I think we're both surprised, and so is her family, that the verdict was only three years."

Thomas appealed to jurors for a probation-only sentence in Tuesday's proceedings, but he said Acosta has no plans to appeal the jury's decision.

Acosta's blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit when she skidded off Moss Road and hit a pole on the night of her son's death, flipping her car on its top. Eight-month-old Jesus was ejected from the vehicle and was later pronounced dead at Medical Center Hospital from blunt force trauma to the head.

Acosta's two daughters, 6-year-old Aspen and 4-year-old Serena Rene, were also in the car but were uninjured. Jesus was cradled in Acosta's left arm at the time of the accident. His car seat was in the trunk.

Acosta said she didn't remember anything about the accident in Wednesday's testimony.

"I feel hurt," she told the court. "I'm disgusted with myself. I can't describe how I feel. I feel like I should be punished for what I did."
In witness questioning and closing statements, prosecuting attorney Lenny Bruce mentioned Acosta's past run-ins with the law, including a September 2006 citation for driving under the influence and not having a child properly secured in a car seat.

After asking Acosta if she wished she could have that fateful night back, she broke down on the stand.

"Yes sir," she replied through tears.

Bruce declined to comment on the case, referring all questions to district attorney Bland.

Thomas relied on character witnesses and told jurors Acosta had matured since Jesus' death. The eighth-grade dropout was 15 when she had her first child.

Thomas asked jurors to imagine themselves in Acosta's place and assured them her remorse was genuine.

"It's a tragic case," he told jurors during his closing arguments. "I can guarantee that she and her husband are not the same people today."