Evan Hoffman Pleads Guilty to Motor Vehicle Homicide, Sentenced

Updated 11:53 a.m. with more details from Wednesday's court proceedings.

A Newton native was sentenced to the House of Corrections today after pleading guilty to a motor vehicle homicide charge that stems from a June 2010 crash. 

Evan Hoffman, 23, appeared in Newton District Court this morning for what would have been the start of a jury trial for his motor vehicle homicide case. Instead, Hoffman pleaded guilty to the charges and the jury trial did not proceed. 

District Court Judge Dyanne Klein sentenced Hoffman to two and a half years in the House of Corrections with 15 months to be served, balance suspended for five years. Hoffman will also lose his license for 15 years, is required to do 100 hours of community service, attend the Brains at Risk program and not drive. 

Authorities and investigators alleged Hoffman was speeding down the eastbound lane of Beacon Street on the morning of June 26 when he crossed over the yellow line into the westbound lane, striking a Ford Aero Star driven by Jose Puzul-Perez, of Chelsea.

The crash left Puzul-Perez trapped inside his van. He was unresponsive when Newton firefighters arrived on scene, authorities said, and was removed with the Jaws of Life. 

Puzul-Perez was transported to where he was later pronounced dead, officials said. Autopsy results release later revealed that Puzul-Perez suffered from severe blood trauma to the head, neck and torso.

The courtroom was filled with tears Wednesday morning from both Hoffman and the victim's family, including the wife and two daughters of Puzul-Perez. 

All three of Puzul-Perez's family members present offered emotional victim impact statements to the court. 

"I spend nights crying for him," said Puzul-Perez's oldest daughter Catherine. "He was everything to me. He was always there when I needed him."

Both Catherine and Puzul-Perez's wife, Maria, held photos of Puzul-Perez in the court room while they cried through their impact statements, each explaining through an interpreter what a loss Puzul-Perez's death has been to the family. 

"This is a difficult moment for us...it's hard for us to be in front of you," Maria said while sobbing, "For me, he was especially helpful with my daughters. He was a great support."

Assistant District Attorney Gina Kwon recounted the June 26 incident to the court, explaining that Hoffman had actually been arrested the night before the crash for malicious destruction of property. He was released the next morning and a few hours later, crashed into Puzul-Perez's van on Beacon Street. 

There was evidence to indicate Hoffman was drinking the night before the June 26 crash, when he was arrested for malicious destruction of property, but there was no OUI charge in connection with the Beacon Street crash. 

Kwon also noted that Hoffman was arrested and charged in 2009 with driving under the influence, and therefore recommended a probation measure of no drinking and no drug use as well as a stipulation for random drug/alcohol screenings.

However, Hoffman's attorney, Timothy Burke, argued that Hoffman is "a decent human being" and in the two years since the crash, has complied with probation and not had any issues with drugs or alcohol. 

"Out of respect, [Hoffman] has accepted responsibility...and is throwing himself on the mercy of this court," Burke said. 

In the end, Klein did not impose the alcohol/drug probation measure.

Burke said Hoffman has been diagnosed with clinical depression as a result of the crash and court proceedings and has been prescribed anxiety medication. 

Hoffman stood next to his attorney crying for the majority of the proceedings, expressing several times to both the family and the court that he wished he was the one that had died in the accident, not Puzul-Perez. 

"These past two years have been hell for me. I can barely breathe up here. I am disgusted with myself." Hoffman said to the family while sobbing in court. "I pray that you could possibly forgive me someday and possibly get to know me instead of the things you've heard or read about me." 

Stay tuned to Newton Patch as more details from this morning's proceedings will be added shortly.