Mar.6,2026: Flores,45, sentenced 10½ years for New Year's hit-and-run manslaughter killing 21-year-old

Yuma County Superior Court handed a 10½-year prison term to 45-year-old Alfredo (Enriquez) Flores on March 6, 2026, after Flores pleaded guilty to manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident involving death in the crash that killed 21-year-old Esteyan Medel. Prosecutors told the court Flores struck Medel with his car on New Year’s Day last year.

Flores had originally faced more severe counts, including second-degree murder and two counts of driving under the influence of drugs, along with leaving the scene, before entering the guilty plea that resulted in the manslaughter conviction and the reduced charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving death. Court minutes provided at sentencing did not specify toxicology results or a precise calendar date for the collision beyond the description New Year’s Day last year.

The sentence of 10 years and six months was imposed by the Yuma County court, and Flores began serving that term the day of sentencing, March 6, 2026. The record released at sentencing did not include details about parole eligibility, credit for time served, or the name of the judge who imposed the sentence.

Members of Esteyan Medel’s family attended the hearing in Yuma. His father, Steve Medel Jr., told the court that, “The sentence cannot replace the life that was taken.” He also addressed the community: “Drinking and driving, drugging and driving is not the way to go. You don’t know the damage it can do to a person.” An uncle identified as Mark added, “We’ve got to live with it now. Just live your life, love your life, and laugh a little every day.” A family member identified in the record only as Medel said, “I lost my son. We lost a family member.”

Prosecutors in the case framed the collision as occurring on New Year’s Day; the plea agreement resolved earlier counts that had included alleged drug-impaired driving but the court record presented at sentencing did not lay out the evidentiary basis for the original DUI counts. Defense counsel comments and any detailed victim impact statements filed with the court were not included in the sentencing excerpts released publicly.

Separate, unrelated criminal cases were noted in regional court reporting this week. In one, 23-year-old Emilio Lopez was sentenced to 10 years after authorities said he transported 30 pounds of methamphetamine in July 2025 and crashed while fleeing arrest, a case Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes described as saying, “This defendant has shown that he poses a serious threat to our communities. Arizonans can rest easier knowing this repeat drug trafficker is off our streets and behind bars for the next decade.” In another unrelated Yuma County matter, 45-year-old Randall Medders was convicted in August 2025 on multiple counts of child molestation and sexual abuse and later received a 110-year sentence in Superior Court.

The Medel family left the courtroom urging restraint and caution on local roads, and the sentence imposed March 6, 2026, begins a prison term that family members said cannot replace the loss of Esteyan Medel.