Man Pleads Guilty In GA Trooper's Death, Drove 140 MPH During Chase
The Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office said the man accused in the death of GA trooper Jimmy Cenescar will serve 17 years in prison.
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — The motorcyclist accused of driving 140 mph during a Jan. 28 police chase and subsequent crash that ultimately led to a Georgia trooper's death pled guilty, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office said 21-year-old Gerson Danilo Ayala-Rodriguez will serve 17 years in prison in connection with the death of Georgia State Patrol trooper Jimmy Cenescar.
Cenescar, 28, was attempting to pull over a motorcycle for a traffic violation around 5:30 p.m., when his vehicle left the road and crashed into an embankment, authorities previously said. He was on Interstate 85 south near Old Peachtree Road.
His patrol vehicle hit trees, shrubbery, a street sign and a retaining wall, the district attorney's office said.
Ayala-Rodriguez on Wednesday pled guilty to first-degree vehicular homicide, the district attorney's office said.
Additionally, Ayala-Rodriguez was convicted of misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, speeding, two counts of driving without a license, operating a vehicle without insurance and operating an unregistered vehicle, the district attorney's office said.
"We tragically lost a young State Trooper as a result of the defendant's reckless driving," Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said in a news release. "Ultimately, the defendant accepted responsibility for his actions in this, although it cannot bring back Trooper Cenescar. We hope this serves as a message to drivers and motorcyclists to drive within the safe bounds of the law."
At the time of Cenescar's death, Ayala-Rodriguez was accused of speedily driving north on a Honda CBR 1000 motorcycle. Cenescar activated his police lights and began chasing Ayala-Rodriguez, the district attorney's office said.
Ayala-Rodriguez was accused of ignoring the lights while speeding and weaving in and out of traffic. At 140 mph, he was accused of splitting lanes.
To avoid hitting cars, the district attorney's office said Cenescar took "evasive action" and lost control of his patrol car. The patrol car then went right, over the east shoulder and hit a guardrail before careening down an embankment, the district attorney's office said.
Ayala-Rodriguez was accused of later destroying the motorcycle's license plate.
Emergency medical personnel tried to save Cenescar's life, but he later died at Northside Gwinnett Hospital, authorities previously said. A funeral for Cenescar was held in February.
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