Fort Bliss soldier pleads guilty in DWI death trial

By ABC-7 Reporter/Anchor Celina Avila

EL PASO, Texas -- A Fort Bliss soldier pleaded guilty Monday to driving drunk and killing a young El Paso woman sitting at a red light. Now a jury must decide his punishment.

Defense attorneys for 37-year-old Edison Bayas say he is taking responsibility for the death of 19-year-old Valerie Talamantes.

District Attorney Jaime Esparza is personally trying the case. He urged the jury in opening statements to protect the community and send a message.

Defense attorneys, on the other hand, said Staff Sgt. Bayas suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of the crash.

Bayas' attorney asked the jury to take into account that Bayas had served two tours in Iraq. He said Bayas was having a flashback at the time of the wreck.

The state called three people to the stand -- the police officer who investigated the scene and two employees of Redflex, the company that handles El Paso's red light cameras.

Jurors gasped when they saw the red light video capturing the crash.

It was Dec. 29, 2007 when Valerie was heading home, trying to make curfew. She was about a mile away from her house at the intersection of Montana and Hawkins when she was hit from behind. She died from the impact.

As jurors saw red light video and pictures, Bayas was noticeably shaken. He kept his head down and wiped his eyes at one point.

The jury heard Bayas had a blood alcohol level of .27, three times the legal limit, and that he was traveling no slower than 60 miles per hour when he slammed into Valerie's car.

Bayas is facing two to 20 years in prison. The punishment hearing will continue with Valerie's parents expected to take the stand on Tuesday.

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Testimony continues in Bayas' sentencing for DWI death

EL PASO, Texas -- The sentencing phase continued Tuesday in the trial of a soldier who admitted killing an El Paso teenager.

On Monday, Edison Bayas pleaded guilty to intoxicated manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Valerie Talamantes, who was killed in 2007 when Bayas crashed into her vehicle as she waited at a red light. Bayas can face anywhere between two and 20 years in prison.

It was standing-room only in the courtroom for the second day in a row. Tuesday, jurors heard more testimony from police officers and witnesses who saw the wreck.

But the most compelling pieces of evidence were two police videos. One was the dashboard video from the police officer who conducted the sobriety test on Bayas. Bayas would fail that test.

The second video was the interrogation interview after Bayas' arrest. Toward the end of the video Bayas talks about making a mistake and saying, "I don't normally drink. That was no the case tonight."

He goes on to say, "I'm really sorry for what I did tonight, I didn't mean to hurt anybody."

The Talamantes family is expected to take the stand on Wednesday.

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Former Texas House speaker arrested for DWI by mounted police

Former Texas House Speaker Gibson “Gib” Lewis, 72, was arrested last night on charges of drunken driving, Austin police said this morning.

Lewis was driving west on Fourth and Lavaca streets in the turn-only lane about 11 p.m. when a mounted officer saw him continue straight on Fourth Street instead of turning, an arrest affidavit says.

The officer then stopped Lewis and called for backup, the affidavit said. Lewis had a blood-alcohol level of 0.16, Austin police said.

Lewis was elected five times to Speaker of the House and was active in the Texas Legislature for more than 20 years.

When reached by phone today, Lewis said, “There’s nothing to say but don’t drink and drive.”

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Gib Lewis, former Texas House speaker, arrested for DWI

Peggy Fikac of the San Antonio Express-News reports that Gib Lewis, speaker of the Texas House from 1983 to 1993, was arrested in Austin and charged with driving while intoxicated.

She provides this link to his booking photo. (Love the shirt.)

Lewis, 72, had a blood alcohol level of 0.16, according to police -- twice the legal limit.

Formerly a Democrat from Fort Worth, Lewis is now a lobbyist in Austin.

He stepped down from the speakership after pleading no contest in 1992 to charges of illegally accepting a gift from a San Antonio law firm and failing to disclose it. As part of a plea deal, he agreed to not seek re-election.

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Former Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis arrested in DWI case

Former House Speaker Gib Lewis of Fort Worth was arrested in Austin late Thursday for driving while intoxicated, police say.

The 72-year-old was apparently driving his 2000 black Porsche in downtown Austin when he didn’t turn left in a left-turn-only lane, said Sgt. Richard Stresing, an Austin police spokesman.

A police officer pulled Lewis over about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, noticed that he had "slurred speech and bloodshot eyes," and called in a DWI unit, Stresing said.

Lewis failed the standard DWI test and registered 0.16 on a Breathalyzer — twice the legal limit — according to an affidavit.

Lewis, a five-term Democratic speaker who also represented Fort Worth in the House for 12 years, is now a lobbyist in Austin. Among his 19 clients this year were Burleson, Mansfield, the Tarrant Regional Water District and Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, state records show.

A call to Lewis’ Austin office was not returned Friday, and he had already been released from the Travis County Jail early Friday.

In the early 1990s, after serving in the House for about 20 years, Lewis stepped down as speaker in the midst of investigations. He pleaded no contest in 1992 to a charge of accepting a gift from a law firm and not disclosing it. He served as speaker from 1983 to 1993.

In 1991, he spent about three hours in jail after a district judge ordered him arrested for missing a court appearance related to an ethics charge.

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Former Texas House speaker facing DWI charge

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A former Texas House speaker is facing a drunken driving charge after he was pulled over in downtown Austin with a blood alcohol level allegedly twice the legal limit.

Police pulled over the 72-year-old Gib Lewis after he drove straight through a turn-only lane Thursday night.

Sgt. Richard Stresing says the arresting officers' report noted Lewis was "swaying, staggering, stumbling" with slurred speech and red, bloodshot eyes. He also allegedly had an alcoholic beverage in a plastic cup in his car.

The arrest report said Lewis failed a field sobriety test. He was arrested and taken to jail where he submitted a breath sample, which showed a blood alcohol level of .16. The legal limit is .08.

Lewis, a Democrat, was speaker of the House from 1983-1993. He is now a lobbyist.

A telephone message left at his office was not immediately returned. The Austin American-Statesman reported Friday that when reached by phone, Lewis said, "There's nothing to say but don't drink and drive."

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UT baseball coach sentenced to 4 days in jail for DWI

AUSTIN, Texas—The University of Texas baseball coach will be spending a little time behind bars.

Augie Garrido was sentenced to four days in jail Thursday morning.

Garrido was arrested in January for driving while intoxicated.

He will also have to pay for his court costs and a $500 fine.

The judge said she was pleased with the amount of work Garrido has done to correct his mistake.

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