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FARMINGTON — A Sandy man was sentenced to at least one year and up to 20 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of causing the death of a motorcyclist while driving under the influence.
Second District Judge Rita Cornish sentenced Joseph Christian Ornelas last month to a term of one to 15 years in prison for negligently operating a vehicle causing a death, a second-degree felony, and a term of zero to five years in prison for failure to remain at the scene of an accident that caused a death, a third-degree felony.
The judge ordered these sentences to run consecutively, and gave him credit for the six months he has already spent in jail.
Ornelas, 22, was also given credit for three sentences of six months in jail for driving on a suspended license, driving without an interlock device and not following requirements as an alcohol-restricted driver, all class B misdemeanors. A charge of failure to obey traffic devices, an infraction, was also dismissed with credit for the time served in jail.
On Oct. 8, 2023, police say Ryker Page Reynolds, 22, was at a stoplight at 1300 East and 7620 South when a car driven by Ornelas hit him from behind, then left the scene. Investigators said Ornelas parked the car in a residential neighborhood, then walked with the passenger to a fast-food restaurant where Ornelas then called police. Officers arrived at the scene of the collision and found Reynolds dead.
Ornelas said he could not see the motorcycle's brake light, and left the scene because his window shattered and he couldn't see, according to charging documents, which also indicate that a mostly empty bottle of alcohol and drug paraphernalia were found in the vehicle. Ornelas was an alcohol-restricted driver and was not using an interlock device.
In June, a jury found him guilty of the felony charges, the infraction and a second offense DUI, a class A misdemeanor. The judge dismissed the DUI charge at the sentencing, ruling that it could be joined in the other charges.
Ornelas pleaded guilty to the class B misdemeanors ahead of his jury trial.
Before issuing the sentence, Cornish heard from Reynold's parents and three other relatives or friends.
