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West Michigan mom enters no contest plea in OWI crash that killed her three children

Leticia Gonzales had previously withdrawn her no-contest plea after learning she could face a sentence of four years.

OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — The woman accused of driving while under the influence of drugs and crashing into a retention pond, killing her three children, entered a no-contest plea in court Monday. 

Leticia Gonzales had previously pleaded no contest to one count of operating while intoxicated causing death as part of a tentative deal with the Ottawa County Prosecutor's Office, Gonzales' attorney and the judge overseeing the case. That count included the deaths of all three children. As part of that deal, the two other counts against her were dismissed.

But during a previous sentencing hearing, the judge said he would be handing her a sentence far greater than that agreed jail term: 48-180 months, or about four years to 15 years with 45 days of jail credit. 

She withdrew her plea back then. 

Gonzales appeared back in court on Monday and pleaded no contest to operating while intoxicated causing serious injury, a five-year felony, and three misdemeanor charges of moving violation causing death.

She's now facing a jail sentence of seven months to two years.

On Feb. 17, 2022, Leticia Gonzales was driving with her three young children in the car when it veered off the road, hit a curb, rolled and landed in a retention pond in Holland Township. 

Gonzales was able to escape the car with minor injuries. Her children were strapped in car seats. Police and rescuers arrived and managed to pull the boys from the water that was covered with nearly eight inches of ice, but it was too late. Her children—4-year-old Jerome, 3-year-old Jeremiah and 1-year-old Josiah—were all killed in the crash. 

Court documents later showed that Gonzales had misused a prescription drug hours before the crash. A deputy who evaluated Gonzales at the hospital after the crash reported her pupils were "notably constricted," her eyelids were droopy and she had difficulty keeping her eyes open. 

Gonzales was later charged with three counts of operating while intoxicated causing death. 

She's due to be back in court for a sentencing hearing on Sept. 25. 

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