Overview
- Blademir Viveros was found guilty on Monday of three counts of aggravated assault by a public servant, and the trial moved Tuesday into the phase where the jury decides his sentence.
- Prosecutors said he struck a Toyota on Cartwright Road while racing to an ATM robbery call without lights or siren, killing Angela Stewart, 53, and her 16-year-old son, Mason, at the scene.
- Investigators said a detainee, Michael Hawkins, was discovered two hours later injured in the back of Viveros’s patrol SUV and died on Jan. 10, 2025 from crash-related complications.
- During Tuesday’s punishment hearing, jurors heard about prior traffic stops and job screening records as well as emotional testimony from relatives of the three people who died.
- Coverage differs on possible prison time, with some reports citing five years to life and others up to 99 years, and the defense calling the crash a human error tied to tactics used to approach robbery suspects quietly.