Left: Angelica Quintana (Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office). Right: Dennis Melton (Facebook).
An Alabama woman who told her boyfriend she was ready to “watch you die” and ran him over with her car will spend the rest of her life behind bars.
Angelica Quintana, 31, has been sentenced following a guilty verdict by a jury in February. The charges against her stem from an incident three years ago when she was accused of killing her boyfriend, Dennis Melton, 27, who was also the father of her three children.
The events unfolded in February 2022 when police in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, received reports of a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle on Interstate 59/20. Initially thought to be an accident, it was later determined that Quintana, the driver, had intentionally struck Melton.
Upon arriving at the scene on Feb. 8, 2022, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) state troopers discovered Melton trapped under Quintana’s car. Despite being rushed to the hospital, Melton succumbed to his injuries shortly after his arrival.
Witnesses testified during the trial that they saw Quintana’s car parked in an emergency lane on the left side of the road as Melton was walking on the right side, according to WBRC, a local Fox affiliate. While behind the wheel, Quintana turned her car in Melton’s direction, drove across three lanes of traffic, and intentionally struck Melton from behind.
But Quintana, according to the witnesses, wasn’t done yet.
Witnesses then saw Quintana run over Melton, dragging him across the pavement, WBRC reported. The orange safety vest he was wearing at the time left an orange streak on the highway. The jury was shown a video by an eyewitness that reportedly showed Melton trapped under the car, taking his final breaths — while Quintana stood by without attempting to help him.
About 10 witnesses, including Melton’s sister, reportedly testified that at one point they heard Quintana say to Melton, “If you get out of the car, I am going to watch you die.”
Quintana was convicted by the jury on Feb. 14. On Tuesday, Judge Daniel Pruet issued her a life sentence According to the Demopolis Times, a local news outlet that was in the courtroom, chief assistant district attorney for the Sixth Circuit District of Alabama Paula Whitney said after the sentencing that Quintana “never called 911” and “showed no remorse” during trial, adding, “I believe the judge took that into account when he delivered his verdict.”
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
