Lawmaker calls on harsher hit and run penalties as accused driver offered plea

April 18, 2018 By Paul Frangipane Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Jean Paul Guerrero. Photo via Twitter

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The driver who prosecutors say killed a popular Brooklyn radio DJ and then fled the scene isn’t sure he wants to accept what many consider a generous plea deal from the Brooklyn District Attorney.

Prosecutors offered Kevin Ozorio a 1 1/3- to four-year sentence if he pleaded guilty to hitting and then abandoning DJ Jinx Paul (Jean Paul Guerrero) of 97.6 La Mega in 2016 — a far shorter stint than the seven years he’s facing if found guilty of the charges.

Ozorio’s defense attorney told Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun that his client wants to finish investigating the evidence given to him before making a final decision on June 13. Ozorio, 28, remains free on bail, infuriating a crowd of Guerrero’s family and friends, plus Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez of Manhattan, who gathered at the courthouse.

Rodriguez said he’ll push for harsher sentences for drivers who leave the scene of an accident, citing 46 hit and run deaths citywide last year.

“We are working hard for DJ Paul, fighting hard for justice and calling on Albany to allow the five district attorneys across the city to go harder on these laws,” he said.

Ozorio is accused of ramming into the 39-year-old DJ as he crossed Jamaica Avenue near Sheffield Avenue at about 4 a.m. on Dec. 19, 2016. Ozorio then allegedly sped off while Guerrero died. The next day, he allegedly got his windshield fixed, prompting a second charge — tampering with evidence.