NORRISTOWN — A jury acquitted a Norristown man of felony murder on vehicle charges, finding that he was not acting recklessly or with gross negligence at the time of the single-vehicle crash that killed his girlfriend and her 3-year-old daughter, who They were passengers. in the vehicle.

However, with what appeared to be a split verdict, the Montgomery County jury of seven women and five men convicted Brayan Alejandro González-Páez, 23, of a less serious misdemeanor of accidents resulting in death without knowing the appropriate leave in connection with the January 1 attack. On December 13, 2024, an accident occurred on Valley Forge Road in Upper Merion Township that claimed the lives of his girlfriend, Anjelica Guadalupe Amaya Briceño, 20, and her 3-year-old daughter.

González-Páez, of the 600 block of West Main Street, showed no emotion as he listened with the help of a Spanish interpreter as the jury foreman announced the verdict after two and a half hours of deliberations Thursday night.

“We are very happy with the verdict. Today justice was done. The jury saw that this case was overcharged and could see the fact that the police and the district attorney’s office did not properly complete the investigation and now our client has the opportunity to be a free man. Our client just wants to be free because he deserves it,” defense attorney Scott Frank Frame reacted to the verdict.

“I can tell you that the reaction I received was a big hug,” Frame added, describing González-Páez’s response when the verdict was explained to him.

During the trial, Frame and co-defense attorney Prince Yakubu argued that prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence that González-Páez was driving recklessly or with gross negligence, elements of the gross vehicular manslaughter charges.

Rather, Frame and Yakubu suggested that the accident occurred when another unknown driver in a vehicle traveling behind González-Páez was “aggressive and road rage,” causing him to speed up. The second vehicle attempted to overtake González Páez, forcing him off the road, defense attorneys suggested.

Frame and Yakubu argued that there were many unanswered questions and reasonable doubts in the case.

But prosecutors Caroline Rose Goldstein and Courtney McMonagle argued that González Páez caused the double-fatal crash by traveling more than 60 mph in a 35 mph zone on a dark road during a storm. Referring to testimony that González-Páez was driving for a food delivery service at the time of the accident, Goldstein suggested that the reason he was speeding was to get to his next destination to make more money.

Prosecutors argued that González-Páez should have known that there was a substantial risk that his conduct could result in death or injury and that the accident was the result of a reckless or grossly negligent act, elements of homicide by vehicle.

Goldstein supported the prosecution’s investigation and evidence, but respected the jury’s verdict.

“I believe there was sufficient evidence to prove homicide by vehicle beyond a reasonable doubt. “I appreciate the jury’s time and work on this and I’m glad this defendant was found responsible,” Goldstein said, explaining that the misdemeanor for which González-Páez was convicted included a finding of negligence, according to the law, but not gross negligence.

“What I read is that the jury did not believe the defendant’s version of events, but concluded that it was negligence and not gross negligence,” Goldstein added.

González-Páez faces a possible sentence of one to two years in prison for the misdemeanor charge of accidents involving death without a proper license, likely with credit for time spent in jail while awaiting trial since his arrest 10 months ago.

“We will ask the judge for a sentence that is consistent with what he had done and that gives justice to our victims,” ​​Goldstein said.

Judge Steven T. O’Neill, who presided over the three-day trial, remanded González-Páez to the county jail without bond pending his sentencing hearing.

González-Páez, a native of Venezuela who authorities say entered the United States illegally from Mexico on May 5, 2023 and was undocumented, also potentially faces a hearing before federal immigration officials.

Following the jury’s verdict, O’Neill convicted González-Páez of additional summary traffic violations, including driving without a license, driving without insurance, speeding, and driving without proper restraints, which carried several fines but no jail time. jail.

During the trial, defense attorneys, based on a report issued by an accident reconstruction expert they hired, argued that a review of the vehicle’s so-called “black box” and GPS data showed that González Páez was traveling within the limit of speed at various times. in the hours before the accident and that the only time he appeared to speed up was when he claimed an aggressive driver was following him closely.

“We presented a defense case,” Yakubu said, adding that defense attorneys attempted to give the jury what they believed was “the full picture” surrounding the events of that night.

Jurors viewed police body camera footage of a statement González-Páez gave investigators from his hospital bed several hours after the crash. González-Páez, who suffered a leg injury, choked back tears when asked to describe the accident.

During the interview, González-Páez, speaking with the help of a Spanish interpreter, stated that at the time of the accident he was working for a food delivery service and was headed to an area business to pick up an order. González-Páez also claimed that a car “came out of nowhere” behind him and passed him illegally, causing him to brake and lose control of the vehicle. González-Páez said he did not get a specific description of the other car, according to testimony.

There were no video surveillance cameras at the scene of the accident. However, defense attorneys argued that video surveillance footage showed another vehicle traveling behind González-Páez’s vehicle at a location approximately 2½ miles before the crash. According to testimonies, the video images were not enough to determine the identity of the second driver.

Frame and Yakubu suggested that authorities did not adequately investigate the existence of a second vehicle and that González-Páez did not receive “fair treatment” from authorities.

“My client deserved better. This is the United States. “We are better than this,” Frame argued.

Goldstein argued that local police and county detectives conducted an adequate investigation.

“Despite extensive investigation, there was no other car. The police looked. But you can’t find something that doesn’t exist,” Goldstein argued.

The investigation began around 1:14 a.m. on Jan. 13, when Upper Merion Police responded to a report of an injury crash involving a single vehicle, a Toyota Yaris, that crashed into a tree in Valley Forge Park. Road, about 1,000 feet west of the county. Line Road, according to the criminal complaint filed by Upper Merion Police Officer Daniel Mease and county Detective David Schanes.

Police said Gonzalez-Paez was outside the car and had pulled out the 3-year-old girl, who was unresponsive. The girl was taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia, where she was pronounced dead at 2 a.m.

Briceño was found trapped and unconscious in the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Briceño was rescued by emergency services and pronounced dead at the scene.

Autopsies performed on Briceño and the child determined that they died from multiple injuries and the manner of death was ruled an accident.

The investigation determined that González-Páez was driving east on Valley Forge Park Road at a speed of 60 mph or greater in a 35 mph zone.

“At that time it was raining a lot. There was a curve heading to the left in the road. González-Páez lost control of his vehicle,” Mease and Schanes wrote in the criminal complaint.

Investigators said before the curve in the road there is a curve warning sign.

Authorities alleged that González-Páez applied the brakes and went off the right side of the road into a grassy area. The vehicle spun counterclockwise, traveled 74 feet across the grass area and struck a tree on the front passenger side door.

“The vehicle rotated around the tree in a clockwise direction. The vehicle sustained extensive damage to the passenger side. The engine compartment was separated from the rest of the body on the passenger side. None of the vehicle’s occupants were restrained. There was no child seat in the car,” Mease and Schanes alleged.

Additionally, the vehicle was not insured as required by law and González Páez did not have a valid driver’s license, according to the criminal complaint.