The family of Carlos Cruz Morales, a Vieques man killed in April 2024, called the sentence of Jeremy Randy del Valle insufficient. Del Valle, a 34-year-old Virginia resident, was sentenced to a year and six months in prison followed by six months of probation for running over Cruz Morales and abandoning the scene. He confessed to the acts, pleaded guilty and avoided a trial.
Family members believe the court overlooked the now-convicted tourist’s extensive criminal record. Cruz Morales, affectionately known as Carlitos, loved nature and worked as a tour guide in the bioluminescent bay of Vieques, known as the Isla Nena. Although Del Valle fled after hitting him, Cruz Morales’s family has found room to forgive him. The sentencing came two years and six months after the accident.