Killer of Midvale man sentenced

Frank Madrid never faced them — the father, the sister or the ex-wife of the man he shot and killed. He just glanced, almost casually, over his shoulder to their corner of the 3rd District courtroom.

"I want to apologize," Madrid, 38, mumbled, his countenance blank and emotionless, "for the pain and heartache I caused."

The court sentenced Madrid Monday to serve one to 15 years in prison for killing Louis Paul Miera of Midvale on Oct. 21, 2007. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Louis Paul Miera's sister fought back tears when Madrid addressed the family. His father bowed his head.

"There is no excuse for what happened," Madrid said, twisting together his cuffed hands.

He kept his eyes on the podium in front of him as Judge Randall Skanchy delivered his sentence.

"I don't expect you to accept my apology, but I want you to know that I accept responsibility for what I did," said Madrid, whose criminal history includes theft, aggravated assault, aggravated robbery and burglary. He is currently under investigation for sexual assault and forcible sodomy.

Madrid told prosecutors he was struggling to take a gun away from Miera in West Valley City when the weapon fired a bullet into his friend's neck, severing the 37-year-old's carotid artery. He was worried that he and Miera would be pulled over for drunk driving and didn't want to be caught with a weapon, said deputy district attorney Alicia Cook. Miera and Madrid had been injecting methamphetamines.

A passer-by discovered Miera's body in the car, where Miera drove it, at about 1400 West and 4300 South in Taylorsville.

"It was an accident," Madrid said during his sentencing. "It wasn't intentional."

Madrid was originally scheduled to begin trial Monday for first-degree felony murder. But prosecutors said that because "some concerns came up with the evidence" they negotiated with Madrid to lower the charges to manslaughter, a second-degree felony, last month.

Defense attorney Isaac McDougal said several witnesses were willing to testify that "the gun had a hair trigger and just went off."

"He recklessly killed somebody, but not intentionally," McDougal said.

Ernie Miera, Louis' father, although downcast and upset, agreed.

His son had been friends with Madrid since childhood, he said.

"You know, he said it was an accident," Ernie Miera said, as he ushered his family out of the courtroom. "Maybe it was."

Louis Miera wasn't perfect, his father admitted. He did drugs. He wasn't always there for his eight children. He got tangled up with criminals like Madrid.

"But deep down he was a good boy," Ernie Miera said. "No matter what wrong paths he may have chosen or what mistakes he made, he didn't deserve to die."

e-mail: estuart@desnews.com