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A Salt Lake City man who fatally injured his girlfriend last year by hitting her with a car was sentenced Monday to three years in jail.
Anthony Robert Vigil, 30, had pleaded guilty in 3rd District Court to second-degree-felony manslaughter and third-degree-felony counts of aggravated assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child for his violent reaction to an argument he had with his girlfriend, Audrianna Mains, at their home on May 21, 2015.
On Monday, Judge Ann Boyden ordered Vigil to serve one year in jail on each of the three counts, and ordered the terms to run consecutively.
The judge, however, gave Vigil credit for 368 days he has served behind bars while awaiting resolution of his case.
Vigil will be on probation for three years after his jail time.
Vigil and Mains' mother, Mandy Lucero, gave statements before the court Monday. He was portrayed in court as a remorseful offender with a tragic past.
In his letter, Vigil called Mains his "better half," apologized for his wrongdoings and asked for forgiveness.
"There's not a day that goes by that I don't feel the ache or the loss," Vigil said.
He and Mains had two daughters together, now ages 2 and 6.
Since the incident, Lucero had been caring for the girls and bringing them to visit their father in jail.
She said she knows what happened was an accident and that she doesn't hate Vigil, who said his intent was to scare Mains by pointing the car at her, but it went too far.
"I lost my daughter, but I also lost my son," Lucero said, referring to Vigil. "I just want him to come home and take care of his kids. ... I think he wants to be better."
Lucero said the tragedy brought both her family and the Vigil family together and made "something beautiful out of something tragic." After the sentencing was over, both families joined hands for a prayer outside the courtroom.
Deputy District Attorney Blake Hills said this was the first case of his career in which he didn't recommend prison for manslaughter.
"I see this as an act of complete stupidity rather than an act that was meant to cause ... harm," Hills told the court. He added that he's been impressed with Vigil for accepting responsibility for his actions.
Boyden said she spent "a lot of time over the last few days thinking" over the case.
"Honestly, I admit to you that I have not heard of any sadder circumstances," Boyden said before handing down Vigil's sentence. She said she believes the sentence, which was far less severe than the typical response to a manslaughter charge, was "fair and just" when accounting for the circumstances.
A year ago, Vigil drove his car at an excess of 40 mph and sent then-24-year-old Mains flying at least 100 feet across an intersection, according to charging documents. She died 10 days later from her injuries.
Lucero and three of Mains' brothers also were in the car's path, but they jumped out of the way, though one of the boys was hit and suffered minor injuries, charges state.
Witnesses told police that Mains and Vigil, as well as her relatives, had been involved in a domestic argument at their residence near 150 West Mead Avenue (980 South).
After the argument spilled out into the front yard, an angry Vigil got into car and began to drive away, but then made a U-turn and drove straight at his girlfriend and her family, charges state.
After driving from the crime scene, Vigil attempted to flee a South Salt Lake officer who tried to stop him for not wearing a seat belt, but a TRAX train at 3300 South and West Temple blocked his escape.
A police search showed Vigil had more than $3,200 in his pocket and a stash of more than 14 grams of a prescription anxiety drugs under the driver's seat of the car, according to charges.
Vigil was initially charged with one count of first-degree felony count of murder, two counts of aggravated assault, three counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, one count of failure to stop at the command of police and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, all third-degree felonies.
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