NASSAU, Fla. — On November 22, 2016, Nassau County Deputy Eric Oliver was struck and killed by a vehicle on State Road 200 while in the line of duty, and while chasing Francisco Portillo-Fuentes.
“Parents aren’t supposed to sit there and bury their child we're supposed to outlive our children the hardest thing was to discuss it with this daughter at the time. Holidays are never going to be the same," said Douglas Oliver, father of Eric Oliver.
Portillo-Fuentes is a non-citizen that's been deported from the U.S. twice and Friday he was back in court.
His sister spoke out in court about who her brother is as a person and what a great dad he was to his children.
“They need him very much they are separating a lot without [their] father. They are going through many things. If he would be freed they would be much happier," she said.
“If the defendant had not been in this county illegally, we wouldn’t be here today. Eric would still be here alive. He would still be serving and protecting our community, his parents would still have his son, and his daughter would still have his daddy," said Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper.
The judge sentenced Portillo-Fuentes to 12 years in state prison minus time served for manslaughter.
“The decision to flee across a busy highway during rush hour and law enforcement chasing you resulted in the death of another human being, a human being that was father, a friend, a co-worker. That act has now been legally determined to be a capably negligent act," said the judge.