𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏𝟐-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

Two months after returning home from serving his country in Afghanistan, 21 year-old and engaged to be married Army Veteran Michael Millan-Perez was on his way to work in the early morning hours of February 25, 2015. At that same time, drunk driver Nick Nicholas was on his way to a casino in Tampa, when he decided to stop his Chevy Tahoe, without any reason, in the left lane of Interstate 4.

Perez was killed when he crashed into the back of the Chevy Tahoe. Nicholas, who walked away from the crash, had a blood-alcohol level of .171, more than double the legal limit. With no plea agreement from the State Attorney’s Office, Nicholas entered an open plea to DUI Manslaughter on August 2, 2018.

Although Nicholas scored 10.5 years in Florida State Prison, according to state sentencing guidelines, Judge William Sites sentenced Nicholas to 12 years in prison, followed by 3 years of probation.

Through a series of legal maneuvers and appeals, Nicholas was able to delay serving his prison sentence until yesterday, when he was finally taken into custody after exhausting his appellate options.

Assistant State Attorney Steve Alamia, a prosecutor who has been recognized by MADD for his advocacy on behalf of DUI victims, and former Assistant State Attorney Lori Winstead, represented the State during this 5 year prosecution. State Attorney Brian Haas is grateful for the work of the ASA’s and the Florida Highway Patrol. While Mr. Perez’s family will forever suffer because of Nicholas’ criminal act, we hope the defendant’s prison sentence provides at least some level of justice for the family.

Today we honor the men and women who have died while serving in the military.