Family members were also upset because they said Holder has not shown any remorse for the accident; Holder did not address the court other to request her family be allowed to bring her fresh clothing for the ride to prison.Holder was arrested at Ventura County Medical Center the same day funeral services - which drew close to a 1,000 people - were held for the victims. She was also ordered to pay the family $24,700 in restitution.“I’m really disappointed with the judge, really upset,” said Medrano later. “He admitted she had no remorse and that her actions warranted more [prison] time.”The District Attorney’s Office was also at fault, she added, by not factoring in Holder’s background of substance abuse and police record in setting the sentence. “They plea bargained at the cost of my father’s and sister’s life.”Additionally, “If the Oxnard Police had impounded her vehicle,” after the earlier accident, “my sister and father would still be alive today. . .”Medrano had only words of praise and thanks for the Santa Paula police and fire departments, who investigated the accident, worked on her family members on scene and helped with the funeral services. “They were all wonderful to the family,” she noted.
Galvan deaths: Family pleads for maximum sentence but plea bargain holds
December 07, 2001
Santa Paula News
In a plea bargain that cut her sentence almost in half for the May accident that killed two members of a prominent Santa Paula family, a judge sentenced a local woman to four years in prison on one count of felony vehicular manslaughter after rejecting the pleas of family members to impose the maximum punishment.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesIn a plea bargain that cut her sentence almost in half for the May accident that killed two members of a prominent Santa Paula family, a judge sentenced a local woman to four years in prison on one count of felony vehicular manslaughter after rejecting the pleas of family members to impose the maximum punishment.Patricia Medrano of Santa Paula, the daughter of Alexandre “Alex” Rivera Galvan, 61, and sister of Carmen Marie Galvan-Herrera, 41, pleaded with Superior Court Judge Art Gutierrez to give Ilene Holder, 22, of Santa Paula, the maximum sentence of seven years and four months.Holder was behind the wheel of an Aerostar van that crossed over the center divider of Telegraph Road near Beckwith Road on May 8, crashing into the oncoming compact car driven by Galvan and killing him and his daughter.A Santa Paula police investigation of the mid-morning accident revealed that Holder had been involved in a minor traffic accident in Oxnard about 90 minutes before the fatal crash; just before she slammed into the Galvans’ car, she ran another vehicle off the road and had been observed driving erratically by witnesses. Toxicology tests revealed that Holder, who received a broken leg in the crash, was under the influence of a controlled substance at the time of the collision. Holder had prior convictions for burglary and petty theft and was known to local police.On Wednesday, Medrano was accompanied to court by almost 50 relatives; Alex Galvan was one of 12 siblings with six children of his own, including Carmen and had been a paid-call volunteer firefighter and active with the Knights of Columbus.Holder, who has two small children, had plead guilty to one count of felony vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated last month.“I don’t believe that four years is justice,” Medrano told the court. “You say you’re here to do justice. Use a gun you get 25 years to life, use a vehicle you get a slap on the wrist. Is that what my dad’s and sister’s life is worth to the court?”
