An “asylum seeker” who killed two women in a Shelby Township crash in June was convicted of two misdemeanors by a Macomb County jury.

The jury found 33-year-old Mexican national Jose Medina-Hernandez guilty of two counts of moving violation causing death in Shelby Township District Court for the deaths of Nancy Richmond, 88, and her daughter Crystal Brunn, 63, the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office announced Thursday.

Medina-Hernandez, who lived in Westland, was driving a box truck southbound on M-53 on June 6 when he rear ended a Buick Verano occupied by the two women, causing a chain reaction that involved two other vehicles.

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“Thank you to the Macomb County jury who delivered justice for the families who lost their loved ones in this tragic and preventable crash,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said in a statement. “Our hearts remain with the victims’ families as they continue to heal from this devastating loss.”

The misdemeanor charges carry up to one year in prison and a fine of $2,000.

Shelby Township Police Chief Robert Shelide said in a statement in June Medina-Hernandez had “no legal status in the country,” but Michigan Secretary of State Chief Legal Director Michael Brady clarified in a letter to Sen. Joseph Bellino, R-Monroe, that Medina-Hernandez is technically an “asylum seeker” and therefore has a “legal presence” in the U.S.

The letter came in response to Bellino’s inquiry into how a reported illegal immigrant obtained a commercial driver’s license in Michigan, as some initial media reports suggested.

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“Contrary to media reports, the driver in question did not have a commercial driver’s license (CDL). He did, however, have a valid Michigan chauffer’s license at the time of the crash. Michigan law requires a chauffer’s license for drivers transporting more than 16 people, carrying hazardous materials, operating a vehicle weighing more than 26,001 pounds, or towing a heavy-weight trailer,” Brady wrote.

“Prior to issuing a Michigan chauffeur’s license to Mr. Medina-Hernandez, our office confirmed his status as an asylum-seeker with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Systemic Alien Verification Entitlement (SAVE) program.”

Michigan lawmakers noted during debate over immigration issues this year that 97% of asylum seekers in 2023 involved illegal immigrants who filed an application to avoid deportation.

Medina-Hernandez received a chauffer’s license in 2018, before racking up a slew of traffic violations.

A review of his state driving record by The Detroit News found “Medina-Hernandez was previously involved in four non-fatal crashes between April 2022 and September 2023.”

“He took hazardous action in two of the crashes, failing to yield in September 2023, and was unable to stop in one crash that occurred in May 2023,” according to the news site. “He was also convicted of making improper or erratic lane changes in Ohio in March 2023, according to the record.”

A witness told WWJ in June Medina-Hernandez was going so fast before the Shelby Township crash two cars involved were “cut in half.”

Medina-Hernandez’s attorney, Mani Khavajian, offered a different rendition of events in comments to The Detroit News after his client’s guilty verdicts.

Khavajian alleged multiple witnesses confirmed a mysterious white vehicle was actually at fault by cutting off Medina-Hernandez’s box truck before the wreck.

“They informed the police of this, but the police decided not to believe them and to believe other witnesses who told him no such vehicle ever existed,” the attorney wrote in a statement. “The police chief made a statement in the media vilifying my client because he’s seeking asylum and safety in the United States yet he failed to ask members of the community to come forth with more information about the white vehicle that caused the death of Nancy and (Crystal).

“Instead of going after whoever was in that white vehicle, they pointed the finger at the immigrant and blamed him for all that went wrong in Macomb County that day,” he said.

Khavajian also alleged data from equipment used to reconstruct the crash was not accurate.

Medina-Hernandez will now be forced to leave the U.S. and “will never be able to come back and be reunited with his loving family,” Khavajian wrote.

It’s the similar outcome for Richmond and Brunn.

Brunn, a longtime resident of Auburn Hills, “loved her time with her grandchildren” and was “traveling and living her best life since retirement,” according to her obituary.

“Crystal is preceded in death by her husband Brian Brunn. She is survived by her children, Brandon (Carrie) Brunn of Texas and Matthew Brunn, and 5 very cherished grandchildren,” it read. “She is also survived by her siblings, Vicki Johnson of Stuart, Florida and Ronald (Pat) Richmond of Leonard, Michigan.”

Richmond, who was born in Pontiac, “loved sewing and quilting” was “also survived by her grandchildren, Andrew Johnson, Amy (Scott) Goodreau, Paul (Angela) Richmond, Randi Richmond, Kevin Richmond, Brandon (Carrie) Brunn and Matthew Brunn,” according to Henry M. Malburg Funeral Home.