Arturo Navarrete, Jr. entered a “no contest” plea to a charge of Felony Motor Vehicle Homicide in Dawson County District Court Friday morning. District Judge Patrick Heng found the 22-year-old Lexington man guilty of the charge in the pedestrian death of 59-year-old Abdelaziz Suliman. A charge of Tampering with a Witness and a Dawson County Court charge of Probation Violation were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
During the hearing, Dawson County Attorney Liz Waterman said it occurred around 4:54am or just prior to daylight on September 24, 2022. She said the defendant was the driver of a blue, Chevy pickup in Lexington when that vehicle struck and killed an adult, male pedestrian. Suliman was walking across South Adams Street on his way to work at Tyson.
Waterman said the law enforcement investigation revealed that Navarrete was driving recklessly.
Suliman died at the scene.
A Lexington Police Department affidavit says that when an officer was speaking with Navarette and his passenger after the accident, the two men stated they were on their way to work at Tyson. They explained they needed to be clocked in at 5:00am. The collision occurred at approximately 4:54am.
Judge Heng set sentencing of Navarrete for November 15, 2024 at 9:00am. Motor Vehicle Homicide is a Class IIIa Felony and carries a maximum penalty of 3 years imprisonment, a $10,000 fine or both.
