Ex-convict sentenced in fatal DUI

An ex-convict from Texas with a history of drunken driving and violence has been sent back to prison for six to 28 years following a deadly auto chase in Las Vegas.

Timothy Fonseca, who had pleaded guilty to drunken driving and leaving the scene of an accident over the high-speed police chase that left a Las Vegas man dead and a police officer injured, cried in court Thursday as he apologized to the family of his victim.

"I never meant for anyone to be killed or for the accident to happen," Fonseca said. "I hope some day you can forgive me. I'm so sorry."

But the family of Dale Smithers wasn't moved by Fonseca's words or the sentence by District Judge Jeff Sobel that will allow the defendant to apply for parole after serving six years.

"He shouldn't be shown leniency or mercy or compassion," said the victim's wife, Susan Smithers, who called Fonseca "a coward" for trying to flee on foot after the fatal collision on June 1 at Pecos Road and Cheyenne Avenue.

Metro Police were pursuing Fonseca, who was driving a pickup at speeds up to 80 mph when he ran through a red light and hit a Saturn driven by Dale Smithers, who was killed as his vehicle was knocked 290 feet.

Deputy District Attorney James Hartsell also sought a harsh sentence, noting that "the only time the defendant has stayed out of trouble was when he was incarcerated."

The maximum sentence would have been 14 to 35 years, but Sobel gave the sentence that was about what the state Department of Parole and Probation had recommended.

As part of a plea bargain, 11 other charges against Fonseca were dismissed.

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