Sentence doesn't ease family's pain

Drunken driver gets 20 years in crash that killed young woman

Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 2, 2005 at midnight

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Friends and family of 20-year-old Melanie Archuleta jammed a Jefferson County courtroom Thursday seeking justice for her death at the hands of a drunken driver.

They'd hoped for relief, but even a 20-year prison term - close to the maximum sentence - didn't ease their pain.

"It's never enough," sobbed Becky Archuleta, after the hearing. "He will live to get out and see his children. I can never see my daughter again."

Melanie Archuleta, a graduate of Lakewood High School where she was a soccer star, was killed Feb. 24, 2004, when Jonathan Threlkeld lost control of his car on Union Boulevard in Lakewood near an elementary school.

Archuleta, a passenger, was killed instantly when she was thrown from the car, which rolled and hit a tree. Threlkeld was driving nearly 80 mph in a 30 mph zone, said prosecutor Matt Durkin. Threlkeld had a blood-alcohol level of 0.219 percent - more than twice the legal limit.

The pair became friends while working at Wal-Mart. They spent the afternoon hanging out with friends and drinking beer, Durkin said. They were on their way for some food when Threlkeld crashed.

"He had no right to end her life so prematurely, and for this I cannot forgive him," Becky Archuleta said, struggling to choke out the words in her statement to the judge.

George Archuleta said his daughter's death was a "nightmare that won't go away. Personally for me, it just gets worse every day. I miss Melanie more every day. I keep thinking she's not dead, that she'll come home."

So many friends showed up for the hearing that about 30 of them, many wearing special T-shirts for Melanie, were turned away from the packed courtroom. They were moved to another room where they were able to hear the proceedings.

Melanie's high school soccer coach, Peter Mehlbach, said she was one of the top five students he had coached in his 30-year career. She attended Stony Brook University in New York on a soccer scholarship.

Like many others who spoke, Mehlbach addressed the social issue of drinking and driving.

"When I became a teacher, I never expected to have to bury so many of my students," he said. "The common denominator is alcohol. I truly feel we have lost this war on alcohol in our society."

Threlkeld's attorney and his adoptive father asked for leniency, noting that Threlkeld was neglected and abused by a string of foster parents. He was turned back to the state after two previous adoptions failed, said his father, Richard Threlkeld.

Jonathan Threlkeld married and had a baby son about a year ago and was a month away from being discharged from parole when the accident happened, said defense attorney Andrew Contiguglia.

Threlkeld took responsibility for his crime from the start and pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, the attorney said.

Jonathan Threlkeld tearfully apologized to the Archuleta family, saying that Melanie was a wonderful friend to him.

"I am, from the bottom of my heart and soul, sorry," he said. "I would do anything to take back that haunting day and I would take her place if I could. There is not a waking day that goes by that I don't think about Melanie. When I go to sleep at night I see that smile, and when I wake up in the morning, that's the first thing I see. I'm truly sorry."

Jefferson County District Judge Margie Enquist rejected his pleas for leniency, noting that he was on parole for forgery when the crash took place.

"I know you didn't set out to kill someone that evening, but let's face it, . . . setting out in a car after drinking is a risk, and people die. This family lost a beautiful young woman who was a gift to this world."

After the hearing, George Archuleta was asked if other teens could learn from his family's tragedy.

"I certainly hope so, but to be perfectly honest, I doubt it," he said, noting that he had many discussions with his daughter about the dangers of drinking and driving. She knew better, he said.

"Why did she get in that car?"

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