Aquino Draws Six Years for Deaths in Auto Crash

Former world champion boxer Lupe Aquino was sentenced Wednesday to six years in state prison for vehicular manslaughter.

Aquino, who had pleaded no contest to the charge Sept. 8, was driving under the influence of alcohol when his car plunged off the San Diego Freeway and down a 30-foot embankment on Aug. 14, 1988. The crash killed passengers Howard Thomas and Teresa Bello of Ventura. Aquino and his girlfriend, Michelle Avila, suffered minor injuries.

Judge David Perez of Los Angeles Superior Court said in Santa Monica that the deaths of Thomas and Bello were “clearly attributable” to Aquino. The maximum sentence would have been eight years.

Aquino, 26, was the World Boxing Council’s super-welterweight champion for three months in 1987.

Marlene Thomas, Howard Thomas’ mother, said she was not satisfied with Perez’s decision.

“Six years is not enough time for two lives,” she said. “Eight years wasn’t even enough. Two lives--aren’t they worth more than three years? I pray that he stays in there the whole time.”

Perez, who said Aquino will be eligible for parole in three years, denied a request for bail by Ed Whipple, Aquino’s attorney, saying: “Aquino does pose a threat to the community because of his repeated acts of violence.”

Aquino, originally from Santa Paula but now living in Campo in San Diego County, has been charged twice with battery by Avila, who was not present at the sentencing.

Whipple argued that Aquino would have been “an excellent candidate for probation because of his support group, which includes his boxing trainers and family. He also argued that with a long prison stay Aquino would be too old to box, which Whipple said “is the only thing he is qualified to do.”

But District Attorney Thomas Miller said Aquino’s past made him a poor candidate for probation.

Miller said that Aquino was driving without insurance at the time of the accident. He also mentioned that Aquino had spent 10 days in jail for driving without a license, which was revoked after the accident, and that Aquino had spent 30 days in jail for failing to pay child support to Avila for the son they had together.