Norristown man acquitted of vehicular homicide in double fatal crash in Upper Merion

NORRISTOWN — A jury acquitted a Norristown man of vehicular homicide, finding he was not reckless or grossly negligent in a crash that killed his girlfriend and her 3-year-old daughter, who were passengers in the vehicle.

However, in what appeared to be a split verdict, a Montgomery County jury of seven women and five men found 23-year-old Brian Alejandro Gonzalez-Paez guilty of the less serious charge of accident resulting in death, even though they had no licenses in connection with Jan. On January 13, 2024, a crash on Valley Forge Road in Upper Marion Township killed his girlfriend, 20-year-old Angelica Guadalupe Amaya Bricheneau, and her 3-year-old daughter.

Gonzalez-Paez, of the 600 block of West Main Street, showed no outward emotion as she listened through a Spanish interpreter as the jury foreman announced the verdict after 2.5 hours of deliberations Thursday night.

“We are very satisfied with the verdict. Justice was done today. The jury saw that this case was overblown and they were able to appreciate the fact that the investigation was not completed by the police and the district attorney’s office and now our client has a chance to be a free man. Our client just wants to be free because he deserves it,” attorney Scott Frank Frame said in response to the verdict.

“I can tell you that I got a big hug,” added Frame, describing Gonzalez-Paez’s reaction when the sentence was explained to him.

During the trial, Frame and his co-defendant, Prince Yakubu, argued that prosecutors did not provide sufficient evidence that Gonzalez-Paez drove recklessly or with gross negligence, elements of a vehicular homicide charge.

Instead, Frame and Yakubu suggested the crash occurred when the other unidentified driver in the vehicle behind Gonzalez-Paez was “aggressive and road rage,” causing him to speed up. According to the lawyers, the second car tried to pass Gonzalez-Paez, pushing him off the roadway.

Frame and Yakubu argued that there are many unanswered questions and reasonable doubt in this case.

But prosecutors Caroline Rose Goldstein and Courtney McMonagle argued Gonzalez-Paez caused the double-fatal crash by driving more than 60 mph in a 35 mph zone on a dark road during a downpour. Citing testimony that Gonzalez-Paez was driving a food delivery service at the time of the crash, Goldstein suggested the reason he was speeding was to get to his next destination to make more money.

Prosecutors argued that Gonzalez-Paez should have known there was a substantial risk that his conduct could result in death or injury and that the crash was the result of reckless or grossly negligent acts, elements of vehicular homicide.

Goldstein supported the investigation and the prosecution’s evidence, but respected the jury’s verdict.

“I believe there was sufficient evidence to prove homicide by vehicle beyond a reasonable doubt. I appreciate the jury’s time and work on this, and I’m glad this defendant was brought to justice,” Goldstein said, explaining that the misdemeanor charge Gonzalez-Paez was convicted of included a finding of negligence under the law, but not gross negligence.

“The way I read it is that the jury didn’t believe the defendant’s version of events, but found that it was negligent rather than grossly negligent,” Goldstein added.

Gonzalez-Paez faces a possible sentence of one to two years in prison on the charge of causing death without proper identification. He is likely to receive credit for time he has spent in jail awaiting trial since his arrest 10 months ago.

“We will ask the judge to impose a sentence that is commensurate with what he did and provides justice for our victims,” ​​Goldstein said.

Judge Stephen T. O’Neill, who presided over the three-day trial, remanded Gonzalez-Paez to the county jail without bond to await his sentencing hearing.

Gonzalez-Paez, a native of Venezuela who allegedly entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico on May 5, 2023 and was undocumented, also potentially faces a hearing with federal immigration officials.

After the jury’s verdict, O’Neill found Gonzalez-Paez guilty of additional traffic violations, including driving without a license, driving without insurance, speeding and driving without proper restraints, which carried various fines but no jail time.

During the trial, defense attorneys, relying on the report of an accident reconstruction expert they hired, argued that a review of the vehicle’s so-called “black box” and GPS data showed that Gonzalez-Paez was traveling the speed limit at various times. hours before the accident, and the only time he seems to have sped up is when he claims an aggressive driver is following him.

“We presented the defense’s case,” Yakubu said, adding that attorneys tried to present to the jury what they believed was the “full picture” of the events of that night.

Jurors viewed a police body camera recording of a statement Gonzalez-Paez gave to investigators from his hospital bed hours after the crash. Gonzalez-Paez, who suffered a leg injury, fought back tears when asked to describe the accident.

During the interview, Gonzalez-Paez, speaking through a Spanish interpreter, said he was working for a food delivery service at the time of the accident and was on his way to a local business to pick up an order. Gonzalez-Paez also claimed that a car appeared behind him “out of nowhere” and illegally passed him, causing him to brake and lose control of the car. Gonzalez-Paez said he did not get a specific description of the other car, according to the affidavit.

There were no CCTV cameras at the scene of the accident. However, defense attorneys argued that surveillance footage shows another vehicle traveling behind Gonzalez-Paez’s car about 2.5 miles before the crash. According to the testimony, the video was not enough to establish the identity of the second driver.

Frame and Yakubu suggested that authorities did not properly investigate the existence of the second vehicle and that Gonzalez-Paez did not receive a “fair shake” from authorities.

“My client deserved better. This is America. We’re better than that,” Frame claimed.

Goldstein argued that local police and county detectives conducted a proper investigation.

“Despite a thorough investigation, there was no other car. The police looked. But you can’t find something that doesn’t exist,” Goldstein argued.

The investigation began at approximately 1:14 a.m. on Jan. 13 when Upper Merion police responded to a report of an injury accident in which one vehicle, a Toyota Yaris, had struck a tree on Valley Forge Park Road about 1,000 feet west of the county Line Road, according to a criminal complaint filed by Upper Merion Police Officer Daniel Meese and County Detective David Shanes.

Police said Gonzalez-Paez was outside the car and took the 3-year-old girl, who was unresponsive. The child was taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the Kingdom of Prussia, where she was pronounced dead at two o’clock in the morning.

Briceno was found trapped and unresponsive in the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Briseño was pulled out by rescuers and pronounced dead at the scene.

Autopsies performed on Briceno and the child determined they died of multiple injuries and the cause of death was ruled an accident.

The investigation determined that Gonzalez-Paez was driving eastbound on Valley Forge Park Road at 60 mph or more in a 35 mph zone.

“It was raining heavily at that time. There was a left turn on the road. Gonzalez-Paez lost control of his vehicle,” Meese and Shanes wrote in the criminal complaint.

According to investigators, there is a warning sign on the roadway before the turn.

Authorities say Gonzalez-Paez braked and went straight off the right side of the road into a grassy area. The vehicle spun counterclockwise, traveled 74 feet across a grassy area and struck a tree on the front passenger door.

“The car went around the tree clockwise. The car was seriously damaged on the passenger side. The engine compartment was separated from the rest of the body on the passenger side. None of the vehicle’s passengers were restrained. There was no child seat in the car,” Miz and Shanes claimed.

In addition, the vehicle was not insured as required by law and Gonzalez-Paez did not have a valid driver’s license, according to the criminal complaint.