Yuma man gets probation in Gila Street hit-and-run case

A Yuma hit-and-run case that began with a crash near Gila Street and First Street ended with probation, not prison, after 24-year-old Saul Angulo Hale pleaded guilty to aggravated assault.

Police said the Sunday night collision involved a Honda that ran into a Dodge Journey and then struck a light pole. Hale was accused of hitting a victim and the pole before leaving the scene, then turning himself in two days later. His bond was later lowered to $50,000 as the case moved through court.

Hale originally faced three charges tied to aggravated assault, criminal damage and failing to remain at the scene of an accident. That changed when he entered a guilty plea to aggravated assault, narrowing the case to a single conviction instead of a trial on the full set of allegations. Judge Claudia Gonzalez then ordered 36 months of probation.

The sentence stands out because the underlying conduct involved both a person and a vehicle crash in a busy part of Yuma, yet the case resolved without jail time. Under Arizona law, a driver in a crash that causes injury or death must stop immediately and remain at the scene. State law also defines aggravated assault to include causing serious physical injury or using a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, the legal framework that helped shape the charge in this case.

The outcome also reflects the tradeoffs that come with plea bargaining. By admitting guilt, Hale avoided the uncertainty of a longer courtroom fight, while prosecutors secured a conviction and the court imposed community supervision instead of incarceration. The Yuma County Adult Probation Department says its mission is to promote public safety through community-based supervision, which is the structure that will now govern Hale’s sentence.

For drivers, cyclists and pedestrians moving through central Yuma, the case underscores how quickly a traffic collision can become a criminal matter and how much can hinge on whether a defendant stays, leaves or later returns to answer for the crash. Sentences in these cases can vary sharply. In a separate Yuma hit-and-run case, Yancy Gregoria Antonio was sentenced in late February 2026 to 3.5 years in prison after pleading guilty in a crash that hospitalized a 48-year-old bicyclist.

Taken together, the cases show that Yuma courts are still drawing hard distinctions based on the facts, the injuries involved and the plea terms reached before sentencing.