Bartolo Paula, 56, had escaped justice for nearly nine years before his extradition from Spain in December. NYPD
The man who killed a 15-year-old student in a 2005 Ozone Park hit-and-run has been sentenced to ten years in prison.
Bartolo Paula, 56, had just dropped his teenage son off at John Adams High School. He was stopped for a red light in the vicinity of 101st Street and Rockaway Boulevard when Jeffrey Javier stepped into the crosswalk on his way to school, but when the light turned green and Paula started to move through it, the boy was not out of his way. Despite striking Javier with his car, Paula left the scene without ever having stopped.
A witness followed his car for several blocks to get his license plate and then handed it over to authorities.
Police tracked him down and he agreed to voluntary surrender the next day. But he never showed up and instead fled the country for the Dominican Republic. After a brief stint there he flew to Spain where he remained until extradition proceedings ended in December.
DA Richard Brown said the defendant was guilty of a “terrible and tragic crime” and of the victim said “his [Paula’s]reckless actions…resulted in the death of a teenage boy who had his whole life ahead of him.”
Javier suffered from developmental disabilities and police alleged that Paula ran him over after getting angry because he was walking very slowly across the street. A number of witnesses corroborated the allegations.
This week, following his conviction at a June trial, Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth C. Holder sent Paula to prison for 10 years and tacked on a 5 -year post-release supervision.
By Patricia Adams
