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Kate Galbreath
Daily Egyptian

The trial for the man charged with killing junior journalism student Ayesha Judkins in December 2003 begins today.

Gustavo Garibay Jr. pled not guilty in October to aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless homicide, which resulted in the death of 20-year-old Ayesha Judkins.

Judkins was a passenger in a Saturn stopped at a traffic light in Chicago when Garibay's Ford Explorer hit the back of the car. A few moments later, the Explorer struck the Saturn again, this time on the passenger side. Garibay's vehicle hit a utility pole while he was trying to drive away from the scene and it overturned.

Garabay, who was 24 at the time of the accident, had 14 prior driving offenses beginning in 1996.

If a plea agreement has been reached between prosecutors and Garibay's private defense attorney, and is accepted by presiding Judge James Schreier, Garabay may not receive prison time.

Debbie McKenzie, Judkins' mother, said a state's attorney told her Garibay would receive 30 months probation with weekends of house arrest in his sentencing.

"Last month I went in, and they told me he was going to be on probation," McKenzie said. "I spoke with a state's attorney and that's what she told me in so many words."

A Class 2 felony, like those Garibay is charged with, could normally bring a three to seven year prison sentence and a maximum $25,000 fine for each offense.

Karen Armbrust, the prosecuting attorney who McKenzie said told her of the sentencing, did not return repeated phone calls from The Daily Egyptian.

Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine, said it would be impossible to know ahead of time what the sentence would be.

"I don't know who would have told her that," Simonton said Tuesday. "The trial starts tomorrow, but there could be a plea agreement. Right now it is scheduled as a trial."

McKenzie said a 30-month probation sentence is not enough for the seriousness of Garibay's crime, but she is not giving up hope for a more serious sentence.

She said she frequently calls and once a month visits the state's attorney's offices.

Because of the trauma of her only daughter's death, she said she lost her job in January after 12 years. Many days, she said, she just couldn't get out of bed.

"I'm going to pray," she said. "He killed my daughter. He should do some time."

Reporter Kate Galbreath can be reached at kate_galbreath@dailyegyptian.com