Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Jean Dandona sentenced a Santa Barbara man to 15 years to life in state prison for a DUI crash that killed two people, after hearing emotional statements from the victims’ families on Thursday morning.

Andrew Raymond Burgher, 34, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in April for causing the vehicle collision that took the lives of Gilberto Arteaga-Gutierrez, 40, of Santa Barbara, and Silvia Velasco, 45, of Lompoc on Oct. 26, 2021.

Arteaga-Gutierrez was driving east on Cathedral Oaks Road with Velasco in the front passenger seat when Burgher slammed into the back of their vehicle, causing it to spin out and hit two parked vehicles, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Burgher was traveling about 90 mph in a 40-mph zone with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.16%, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Since he has two prior DUI convictions, the District Attorney’s Office charged him with murder in this case.

At the sentencing hearing, Velasco’s family filled one side of the courtroom and watched as sheriff’s bailiffs brought Burgher into the courtroom. Burgher has been in jail custody since his arrest and was wearing a blue jail uniform and chains.

Prosecutor Kevin Weichbrod said Burgher knew the actions he took that evening “were likely to kill somebody” Family members of the victims wanted a longer prison sentence in this case, but life in prison without the possibility of parole was “not legally obtainable” in this case, Weichbrod said.

Burgher will serve two prison sentences of 15 years to life concurrently, which means he will be eligible for parole in 15 years, Dandona said.

Victim Impact Statements

Monica Velasco, Silvia Velasco’s daughter, read an emotional statement to the court.

She recalled the day they got the news.

“My father, who doesn’t show any emotion, that was the first time I’ve seen him drop to his knees and yell,” she said. “Seeing this broke me completely.”

She said the family has grown apart in many ways since the crash, and it probably wouldn’t have happened if her mother was still here.

“I always have to think about how scared she was in her last moments,” Monica Velasco said. When she drives, she said, “I look over at the passenger side and imagine her scared face.”

Her parents taught the family to cross themselves before they entered the road, she said.

“It was to protect us from people like this — monsters like this, evil people like this — knowingly doing what he did,” she said.

Burgher and his family have never apologized or contacted the families, she said.

“You really showed how soulless you are,” she said.

Juan Manzo, Silvia Velasco’s cousin, said they grew up like brother and sister.

“We have to live with this over and over, every day,” he said during the sentencing hearing.

“My family is very hurt right now, we’ll never get over this, and I hope you’re very harsh on him,” he told the judge.

Manzo said he made it clear to his children that they will be showing up to all of Burgher’s parole hearings in the future “to make sure he does not get parole.”

Public Defender Mark Saatjian, representing Burgher, said he advised his client not to make statements during the case, as he advises other clients. He said there have been delays in this case and apologized on behalf of Burgher and his family “for the way that has also caused pain.”

Burgher then made a brief statement: “I don’t feel there are any words that could adequately convey the suffering that I’ve caused here. I just want to say to families of the victims that I’m truly sorry for all of this.”

After the hearing, Weichbrod told Velasco’s family that Burgher will not appeal the conviction because of the plea deal.

Burgher will be transported to the state prison system in the next few weeks, he added.

Wrongful Death Case

Velasco’s family has filed a wrongful-death case against Uber and related companies claiming that Burgher was operating his vehicle using the Uber app or Uber Eats app and as “an agent, employee or partner” of the company.

Burgher is also named as a defendant, as are Portier LLC, an Uber subsidiary that manages delivery services for Uber; and Checkr Inc., which provides driver-background checks for the companies.

The lawsuit alleges that Burgher’s prior DUI history “was not obtained and/or not provided” by Checkr to Uber or Portier.

The family’s attorneys told Noozhawk on Thursday that the case was filed in San Francisco Superior Court but will be moved to Santa Barbara Superior Court.