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Update: The sentencing time has been updated to 10:30 a.m.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An Arizona man, who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for killing his friend in a 2019 drunk driving crash, is set to be sentenced remotely at 10:30 a.m., Dec. 15, 2020.
District Judge Kea Riggs is set to sentence Maroquez Clah, 28, of Red Valley, for the DWI crash that killed Darrell Chavez, 22, near Mitten Rock, according to the docket. Clah previously pleaded guilty without a plea agreement in front of Magistrate Judge John Robbenhaar. The maximum sentence for involuntary manslaughter is eight years.
Riggs previously ordered Clah released to his parents’ home in Red Valley, Ariz., after Magistrate Judge Paul Briones refused to release him, despite his medical needs.
The sentencing hearing will be conducted remotely and is assigned to the Bonito courtroom, numbered 540, according to the docket.
A federal grand jury indicted Clah on a charge of involuntary manslaughter on Nov. 25, 2019 for crashing his truck while drunk near Mitten Rock, killing Chavez. He was not arrested until Feb. 14, 2020.
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- Suspect: Maroquez Clah
- Victim: Darrell Chavez, 22
- Charges: Involuntary manslaughter
- Date of incident: Aug. 30, 2019
- Type of incident: DWI crash
- Status: Plea without a deal; pending sentencing, maximum 8 years
- Investigating Agency: FBI
- Location: Mile Marker 2, Navajo Route 13 (Indian Services Route 13) Mitten Rock, NM
- Federal district case number: 19-cr-4447
- Search warrant case number: 19-mr-01054
- Prosecutor: Novaline Wilson
- Prosecuting agency: U.S. Attorney’s Office
- Plea judge: Magistrate Judge John Robbenhaar
- Sentencing judge: District Judge Kea Riggs
- Sentencing hearing: 10 a.m., Dec. 15, 2020
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Arizona man pleads to involuntary manslaughter without deal in DWI killing
