BARTOW — More than five years after 21-year-old Michael Jovanie Millan Perez died in a DUI-related crash along Interstate 4 near State Road 33, the driver who pleaded guilty to causing the crash has begun his 12-year prison sentence.
Nick Nicholas, 36, of Orlando, was taken into custody during a court hearing Tuesday. He had pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter two years ago, but Circuit Judge William Sites had allowed him to remain free on $100,000 bond pending his appeal, court records show.
In February, the Lakeland-based Second District Court of Appeal rejected that appeal, and on Friday, the court denied his lawyer’s request for a rehearing.
“I do feel that what’s occurred now is there has been some finality with regards to the appellate remedies,” Sites said during Tuesday’s telephonic hearing. “I’m not going to give him any more time. I’m going to take him into custody.”
The Polk County Courthouse remains open to only employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nicholas was waiting near the main entrance, his lawyer said.
The crash occurred during the predawn hours of Feb. 25, 2015. Perez, of Orlando, was driving westbound on I-4 to his job in Tampa when his 2001 Honda Civic slammed into the back of Nicholas’ 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe, which was stopped in the left lane of the interstate.
Witnesses said the impact propelled the Tahoe into the grass median, where it struck a cable barrier. Perez, whose car spun into the center lane, died at the scene.
Nicholas told law enforcement officers he’d had two shots of alcohol at an Orlando restaurant, and had left sometime after 1:30 a.m. for the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa.
Testing would reveal that his blood-alcohol level totaled 0.17, or more than twice the legal limit of 0.08. Florida Highway Patrol reports also showed Nicholas had diazepam and nordiazepam in his system — prescription drugs used to treat anxiety or seizures.
He was arrested Nov. 2, 2015, and released from the Polk County Jail seven days later after posting a $15,000 bond, jail records show.
Nicholas pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter in May 2018 after Sites denied a defense motion to suppress the blood-alcohol evidence. The conviction carried a maximum 15-year sentence, including a mandatory four years.
In August 2018, Sites sentenced him to 12 years in prison, but allowed him to remain free on bond and a GPS monitor. At that hearing, Nicholas’ lawyer, Christopher Lyons of Miami, announced he would appeal the suppression ruling, and Assistant State Attorney Steve Alamia agreed that his case couldn’t proceed without the blood-alcohol evidence.
In its decision Friday, the appellate court again upheld Sites’ ruling to allow the blood-alcohol evidence at trial.
Suzie Schottelkotte can be reached at suzie.schottelkotte@theledger.com or 863-533-9070. Follow her on Twitter @southpolkscene.
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