Already reeling from grief because a son was killed, Corona resident Kellie Montalvo said she and her husband are “infuriated” that the hit-and-run driver who she considers unrepentant is apparently getting released from prison after serving less than three years of a nine-year sentence.
Neomi Renee Velado, imprisoned on July 26, 2023, was scheduled to be freed by Saturday, Feb. 14, said her attorney, John-Paul Serrao. She was still in custody at the California Institution for Women in Chino as of Friday, Feb. 13, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website.
Three years after 21-year-old Benjamin Montalvo was killed in 2020 while bicycling on Rimpau Avenue in Corona, Velado was convicted of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and hit-and-run resulting in death.
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“What I see is the demonstrated callousness of leaving a boy in the street to die,” Riverside County Superior Court Judge Matthew C. Perantoni told Velado during sentencing.
In California, inmates typically serve half their sentences for what are classified as non-violent offenses — including those for which Velado was convicted — as long as they follow prison rules. Velado shaved additional time off her sentence by receiving credits for joining an inmate firefighting crew, Serrao said.
Velado became the captain of her crew and had no disciplinary issues, the attorney added.
Emily Humpal, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said generally speaking inmates who are sentenced to a fixed period are automatically released without a parole hearing after satisfying that term. The release date for those inmates may be moved up based on credits.
Velado expressed remorse at her sentencing, but that came after testimony revealed that she had repeatedly texted her boyfriend in the moments before the collision. The texting continued until Velado reached home.
Velado replaced her broken windshield the next morning before going to work, court records say. She turned herself in to the police that night at the urging of her mother, they say, and detectives found marijuana in her car. And, a day later, Velado posted photos to Facebook showing her and her boyfriend partying in Las Vegas, according to testimony.
So news of Velado’s early release, Kellie Montalvo said, “came as a huge gut punch.”
Her opinion is supported by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case.
“While we respect the legal process, public safety remains our top priority,” Molly Smith, a DA’s spokeswoman, wrote in an email to the Southern California News Group. “(Deputy District Attorney Melanie) Deutsch and our office strongly oppose her release as she has demonstrated that she is a danger to our community.”
Velado admitted in court records that she rear-ended another vehicle in June 2018 because she was looking at her phone, and that she failed to stop. Then in September 2018, she admitted she hit a parked car while plugging in a cellphone charger and continued driving.
Montalvo takes issue with Velado’s crime being considered non-violent. Benjamin was slammed into the windshield and was thrown over the car to the pavement, where he died.
“There was nothing about it that was not violent,” Montalvo said.
On Thursday, Feb. 12, Montalvo spoke at a news conference at the state Capitol in support of Senate Bill 907, which would, among other actions, add vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated to the roster of violent crimes.
“Vehicular manslaughter is still manslaughter,” Montalvo said in an interview. “When you add in a gross negligence component to it, it is just a complete disregard for human life.”