NEW BRITAIN, CT (WFSB) - A man accused of hitting and killing a state trooper last year accepted a plea deal during a court appearance in New Britain on Tuesday.

Alex Oyola-Sanchez’s deal will have him serve 18 years in prison.

Oyola-Sanchez hit Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier as Pelletier conducted a routine traffic stop on Interstate 84 in Southington in May 2024, investigators said.

Though he faced several charges, he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.

He faced a maximum penalty of 20 years if he had gone to trial and was convicted. Instead, he accepted the plea deal for 18 years.

Attorney Mark Arons has been practicing law for more than 40 years.

“It’s always good for the state if they can forgo a lengthy and difficult trial. These manslaughter murder cases are never simple,” he said.

At the time of the hit-and-run, Oyola-Sanchez was on a number of drugs, a report from the Department of Public Safety revealed. A witness also reported seeing him drift into the right shoulder of the highway.

His sentencing was set for April.

The Pelletier family was there for the court appearance, surrounded by state troopers and other members of law enforcement.

Aaron Pelletier’s wife, Dominique Pelletier, asked the judge for 30 years.

Dominique made it clear she is against the plea deal.

“Will he be let out again to kill another person and cause more pain? Will I have to reopen these wounds again when he’s up for parole?” she asked. “My fear is that when this man is eligible for parole our children will still be in the public school system, still minors, still juveniles, still needing my protection.”

“He should probably get 40 or 50 years, but that’s just not in the cards. It’s not the system. It’s built into the statutes what the max is, and the judges don’t have leeway to say, ‘the statute says 20, but I’m going to give you 40.’ It just doesn’t work that way,” Attorney Arons said.

Dominique said directly to Oyola-Sanchez that he’s living and breathing while her husband is dead, and that she’ll never forgive him.

“To you, Alex Oyola-Sanchez. While you stand here today, living, breathing, and eventually being able to walk free, Aaron is reduced to pictures on our wall, engraved on law enforcement memorials and memories in our hearts,” Dominique said.

Oyola-Sanchez will be in his early 60s when he is released.

The I-Team uncovered Oyola-Sanchez’s violent past.

In Puerto Rico, he was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder in 2008. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

Before that, he was found guilty of another murder in 2007.

Correction records showed that he spent 9 years and 6 months in prison. He was released on Feb. 8, 2016.

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