Superior Court in Derby.
DERBY — Two brothers arrested in connection to the 2021 hit-and-run death of an elderly couple on Route 67 rejected a plea deal on May 15 that would have put them behind bars for a decade.
Jair Irigoyen-Flores is accused of driving the vehicle that struck and killed James and Barbara Tamborra, both 81, of Shelton, as they attempted to cross the road at about 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021.
He was offered a 26-year sentence, to be suspended after 18 years.
The deal meant that Irigoyen-Flores would have been eligible for parole after serving 15 years in prison. If he violated his parole after getting out, he could’ve been sent back to prison to serve the full sentence.
Robert Berke, his lawyer, declined to specify why Irigoyen-Flores turned the deal down.
“What I can tell you is that when we were in court today we asked for a jury trial, and that has yet to be scheduled,” Berke said.
Riqui Irigoyen-Flores, Jair’s brother, is accused of covering up the crime after it was committed. He rejected a deal that would have seen him sentenced to 10 years prison, suspended after five, plus five years probation.
Kenneth Tamborra is James and Barbara’s son. He was in court with about five supporters. He’s appeared at every court hearing for the two defendants. That’s 22 appearances for Jair and 14 for Riqui.
He told The Valley Indy no amount of prison time makes up for the fact he and his siblings lost their parents, but that the offer made by the prosecution was fair and well researched. He was surprised they rejected it.
“I’m looking forward to it going to trial, because the evidence against them is overwhelming,” Tamborra said.
Tamborra said he was relieved that Wednesday’s plea rejection was at least movement on the two criminal cases. He did not want to see the hearing simply pushed to another date as is common in the justice system.
“It’s progress,” he said.
James and Barbara Tamborra were leaving a crowded wake at a funeral home in Seymour when they were struck while walking to their vehicle parked in a lot across Route 67. A police officer acting as a crossing guard was almost struck, too.
The vehicle sped off.
Police developed Jair Irigoyen-Flores as a suspect from an anonymous tip and vehicle debris left at the scene of the crime. Police said he was arrested just before he was scheduled to fly to Mexico. He was arrested Dec. 23, 2021 and charged with two felony counts of second-degree manslaughter along with evading responsibility.
Click here for a previous story.
Riqui Irigoyen-Flores was arrested on Nov. 16, 2022. Police said he tried to throw cops off his brother’s trail by hiding the vehicle that hit the Tamborras. Click here for a story.
Jason Spilka is a lawyer with The Kaloidis Law Firm LLC in Waterbury.
“The underlying facts of this case — it is a tragedy. We have the loss of two lives. But at the end of the day our position is that Riqui has done nothing wrong,” Spilka said.
The Tamborras were married for 56 years and had three children, nine grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
James Tamborra was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and served as vice-president of engineering at Emson Research before retiring. Barbara Tamborra was a Eucharistic Minister at St. Lawrence Church in Shelton for more than 20 years.
