Miami (EFE).- The Mexican actor Pablo Lyle was sentenced this Friday to five years in prison and eight years of probation for the death in 2019 of a 63-year-old Cuban, whom he punched after an argument that occurred at an intersection in this city in South Florida (USA).
Miami-Dade County Magistrate Marisa Tinkler Méndez today imposed the sentence on Lyle, present in court wearing a prisoner’s uniform and handcuffed, after a jury found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Juan in October of last year. Ricardo Hernandez.
The attorneys for the Prosecutor’s Office had requested in this case the maximum sentence, 15 years in prison, while the defense requested a year and a half in prison.
Defense attorney Philip Reizenstein asked the judge to take into account that Lyle has no criminal record and that it was Juan Ricardo Hernández who started the discussion.
The Miami-Dade County circuit judge acknowledged that it has been the most difficult case of her career and that, when imposing the sentence, which also involves hours of community service and conflict resolution and anger management, she took into account mitigating factors under state law.
“This is a sad example of something gone too far. I think that if Lyle had a second chance, he would not take those actions for which he must now assume responsibility,” said the judge, who stated that Mr. Hernández “did not deserve to die for what happened that day,” at the same time as the Mexican he acted “overcome with rage.”
“I have learned a great lesson”: Pablo Lyle
“It is the most sincere apology that I have offered in my life, I am very sorry with all my heart,” said the actor, visibly moved, to the victim’s relatives present in the room moments before the sentence was announced, in which has been the first time that it has manifested itself since the incident occurred.
“I have learned a great lesson,” added the Mexican Pablo Lyle, who at times was forced to interrupt his testimony due to tears and specified that he had nothing against the victim, nor that he had ever imagined the outcome caused for an event that lasted “a matter of seconds.”
In turn, Lyle’s wife, Ana Araujo, said in the room that the actor was never a violent person but rather “someone conciliatory”, who always looks out for the good of others and the well-being of his family, and for The event “has been something very impressive.”
“I have always told you, you are a heart with legs” (feet), the wife and mother of his two children told the actor, who revealed that, after learning of Hernández’s death in the hospital, “Pablo was vomiting, not he could stop crying, he could not get up, he could not believe that the man had died.
“A reaction of a few seconds does not define you as a person,” added Araujo.
The actor’s sister, Silvia Lyle, and his brother-in-law, Nicolás Delfino, the latter the driver of the vehicle in which Lyle, his wife and children were traveling on the day of the events, which occurred in March 2019, also gave their testimony.
The events occurred in 2019
The attack occurred at a red light and during a fight over a traffic dispute during which the telenovela actor like “My adorable curse” got out of the car and hit Hernández as he returned to his car after yelling at the occupants. .
The images collected by the security cameras of a nearby gas station show Lyle running towards the man, who, seeing the Mexican approaching, tries to protect himself without success and, after receiving a punch, collapses instantly. Four days later, he passed away at a Miami hospital.
Defense attorney Philip Reizenstein called during the trial for an independent review of the facts in relation to what he called an “excusable homicide,” and told the judge that Florida law provides that “people fight and punch each other.” .
Last December, the judge rejected a defense request for a new trial to be held.
The lawyers for Pablo Lyle, who is known for his performance in soap operas such as “La sombra del pasado”, had previously requested, also unsuccessfully, to dismiss the case under Florida’s self-defense law.
«When I saw my father in that hospital bed, I didn’t want to believe it was him, because he was a very happy person, very attentive to everyone. There are no words to describe who my father was. It has been a very hard four years,” said the victim’s son, Juan Ricardo Hernández, who asked for the maximum sentence in the room.
During the hearing, a video of the victim’s mother recorded in Cuba, where she resides, was shown and she asked for justice for her son, just as the deceased’s fiancée did in the courtroom.