Williamsburg: Driver Who Killed Glaubers Couple Gets Conviction Overturned by Appeals Court, Again

By FrumNews.com

Update: A spokesperson for the Brooklyn DA‘s office told FrumNews.com, “From the very beginning of this tragic case, our office fought to bring justice to the Glauber family. We intend to continue doing so by requesting that this defendant serves his full sentence.”

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Brooklyn, NY — The Appellate Court, Second Division overturned the sentence of Julio Acevedo, who killed Williamsburg couple Reb Nachman and Raizy Glauber and their baby born prematurely, z”l, in a devastating hit-and-run in 2013.

On March 3rd, 2013, the Glaubers were on their way to Long Island Jewish College Hospital to give birth to their firstborn child, when the car service in which they were riding in was directly hit by a speeding BMW in Williamsburg, killing both. Their baby was born prematurely and survived in serious condition briefly before returning to Olam Haemes, in Bellevue Hospital.

The driver later turned himself in at the state Supreme Court in Brooklyn, after being tracked down and convinced by his friend (who received a cash reward arranged by community activists Issac Abraham and Gary Schlesinger for convincing the driver, who was on the run to turn himself in to the authorities). Acevedo was then charged with vehicular manslaughter and later convicted and sentenced to 25 years. (He was given an extra 10 years, due to his criminal record).

In 2020, the Appellate Court overturned the charge, taking off the charges of vehicular manslaughter. The Jury upheld the charge of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting (2 counts), for a total of 15 years in prison.

Last week, Wednesday, the Appellate Court overturned his conviction, stating that the Supreme Court didn’t comply with the procedural requirements. “Initially, the court must determine whether the defendant is a persistent felony offender as defined in subdivision 1 of section 70.10 of the Penal Law, namely, that he [or she] previously has been convicted of at least two felonies, and secondly, the court must determine if it ‘is of the opinion that the history and character of the defendant and the nature and circumstances of his [or her] criminal conduct are such that extended incarceration and lifetime supervision of the defendant are warranted to best serve the public interest.’”

The Appellate Court also said in its ruling the Supreme Court failed to comply with the second prong of the analysis by failing to set forth, on the record, the reasons why it was “of the opinion that the history and character of the defendant and the nature and circumstances of his criminal conduct indicate[d] that extended incarceration and lifetime supervision best serve the public interest.”

Essentially, the Appellate Court sent the case for resentencing to the Brooklyn Supreme Court, saying that the charges were too harsh. Acevedo will likely stay in prison until the resentencing.

Issac Abraham, a Williamsburg Askun, who is familiar with the developing situation, told FrumNews.com, “It is sad that the souls can’t rest. Why must the family go through this pain again—haven’t they suffered enough?”