RIVERHEAD MAN SENTENCED FOR MANSLAUGHTER

(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Santiago Monzon-Archila, age 40, was sentenced to an indeterminate sentence of 2 ¾ to 8 ¼ years in prison after pleading guilty in June to Manslaughter in the Second Degree.

“This victim’s life was cut short due to this defendant’s decisions, which evinced a total disregard for the safety and well-being of his passenger and other motorists,” said Tierney. “We will continue to crack down on drivers who choose to endanger the citizens of Suffolk County on our roads.”

According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions, on December 17, 2021, at approximately 5:00 a.m., the defendant lost control of his vehicle on Flanders Road and crashed through an iron fence, into a parked truck and then through a wood fence, which caused the car to go airborne and finally crash into a house on Flanders Road. The responding officer’s estimate was that the defendant’s car crashed into the house approximately 10 feet into the air. The defendant’s car landed upside down with him trapped inside. Police watched as the defendant cut himself out of the driver’s seatbelt.

As a result of the crash, the defendant's passenger, Edis Noe Hernandez Nunez, was ejected from the vehicle and later pronounced dead at the Peconic Bay Medical Center. Monzon-Archila admitted to police that he and Edis had been drinking beer since 7 p.m. the night before. Police recovered beer cans at the crash scene. The District Attorney’s Office applied for a search warrant of the defendant’s hospital blood which was taken one hour after the crash. The results of the analysis revealed a Blood Alcohol Content of .13%.

In addition to Manslaughter in the Second Degree, the defendant was sentenced to a concurrent

1 to 3 years in prison for Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree and 6 months in prison for Driving While Intoxicated.

This case was heard before the Honorable Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz and Monzon-Archila was represented by Jeremy Mis, Esq. of the Legal Aid Society.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney’s Carl Borelli and James P. Scahill of the Vehicular Crime Bureau.

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Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments.

Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.

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