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Former firefighter reaches plea deal in fatal Opening Day crash

One victim's family is irate at the plea deal
Posted at 4:17 PM, May 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-02 23:08:35-04

An off-duty Milwaukee firefighter involved in a car crash that left two people dead pleaded guilty Monday as part of a plea deal.

Joshua Larson could have spent half a century in the lockup for driving drunk and killing two people, but TODAY'S TMJ4 was with the family of one of the victims, as they found out he will likely be free far faster than that.

Larson agreed to a deal to plead guilty to killing Yoruba Sly-Lundasi, an Uber driver, and Wendell Johnson, an out of town businessman, in a drunk driving accident two year ago after the Brewers’ home opener.

"Vehicular homicide he gets eight years? For two deaths, eight years?" asked Tavaree Sly-Lundasi, Yoruba’s daughter.

She is in disbelief that the man who pleaded guilty to killing her father will spend so little time in prison.

"The rest of us our suffering because we have to celebrate Memorial Day and birthdays without our loved one and all they got to do is visit him for 8 years," Tavaree said.

TODAY'S TMJ4 learned from Larson's defense attorney he made a deal to plead guilty to two charges of homicide by use of a vehicle with PAC (prohibited alcohol concentration). Two other charges of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle were dropped. The prosecution would then recommend an eight year prison sentence with four years of supervised released.

Larson was driving drunk when he killed Wendell Johnson, an out of town businessman and Yoruba Sly-Lundasi, who was working as an Uber driver.

"At the end of the day had he been not so drunk this could have been a minor accident, no vehicular homicide," Tavaree said. "His choice of weapon to kill was his vehicle."

Larson's attorney Julius Kim said there were issues with the case that they took to the prosecution, and both sides came to this resolution. Tavaree said after all this she has only wanted one thing from Larson.

"You drove drunk drunk. Not once, you could have said a simple, ‘I'm sorry for what happened’," Tavaree said.

The sentencing recommendation will be given to a judge July 21. A judge still has to approve it.

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