Fort Myers man resentenced to 45 years for 2008 killing

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — A man originally sentenced to 60 years in prison for the 2008 death of a Bonita Springs woman has been resentenced to 45 years.

Luis Gonzalez, 31, was convicted in 2013 of running over 25-year-old Tia Poklemba three times and leaving her to die. Later that year, he was sentenced to 30 years each for first-degree manslaughter with a deadly weapon and leaving the scene of a deadly crash.

On appeal, attorneys for Gonzalez successfully argued that under state law, a car can’t be considered a weapon. So, he was resentenced Wednesday for second-degree manslaughter.

Poklemba’s family was visibly upset in the courtroom as 15 years were knocked off Gonzalez’s punishment.

“I don’t think he deserves any lighter sentence whatsoever for what he did because he knew what he did, and he did it on purpose,” said Poklemba’s mother, Debbie Poklemba. “That’s it, just hurt me, broke my heart.”

A pair of newspaper carriers found Poklemba dying in the middle of a road in a remote part of San Carlos Park on Aug. 8, 2008. She died shortly thereafter.

Authorities sought Gonzalez for four years before he was found in Mexico in 2012, with the case making an appearance on “America’s Most Wanted.”

Gonzalez maintained Wednesday that he didn’t commit the crime, saying that he couldn’t apologize for something he didn’t do.

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