A Long Beach woman was sentenced to four years in prison today for drunkenly crashing into and killing a beloved local grandfather who worked as a custodian at Cal State Long Beach.
The short prison term was a disappointment to the family of 60-year-old Rodger Watkins, who was driving to work on the night of Feb. 20 when 31-year-old Julie Haq slammed into him at nearly 90 mph , according to prosecutors.
Because of the time she’s already spent on house arrest during the judicial process, Haq’s sentence was further shortened to 882 days — or about two-and-a-half years.
The sentence comes after Haq pleaded no contest in October to one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated — a crime that’s typically punishable by 4, 6, or 10 years in state prison.
In front of roughly 40 members of Watkins’ family and friends wearing purple rose lapel pins in his honor, Long Beach Superior Court Judge Judith Meyer detailed the reasons she doled out the minimum sentence — including a psychologist’s report that Haq had suffered abuse in the past. The shorter sentence was also warranted, Meyer said, because Haq had no prior convictions and she had quickly taken responsibility for her actions and tried to atone for them.