Inset top: Allen Matis (Miami-Dade Corrections). Inset bottom: Henry Bezy (WTVJ). Background: The home of Henry Bezy in Coral Gables, Florida (WPLG).
A Florida real estate developer will spend the next few years behind bars for plowing into an elderly man's home while drunk behind the wheel, smashing into the residence and killing the man while he slept.
Allen Matis, 68, appeared in a Miami courtroom to enter a guilty plea to DUI manslaughter and related felony charges stemming from the catastrophic crash, which occurred at around 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24, in the 2900 block of Southwest 57th Avenue, in the unincorporated Coral Terrace area. Henry Bezy, 82, was sleeping in his bedroom at the time; he became trapped underneath the car that Matis was driving, local ABC affiliate WPLG reported.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Matis apparently told police that he was driving home from a high-end luxury hotel at the time of the crash.
"The fact that the defendant volunteered that he had been at the Ritz-Carlton prior to this crash is that he got so drunk at that location that he must have driven right past his own home," a prosecutor said, according to a courtroom report from WPLG.
On Thursday, Judge Tanya Brinkley sentenced Matis to six years in prison, WPLG reported.
"Henry's death is a cross I am going to carry for the rest of my life," Matis said at his hearing, according to the TV station. He also said he intended to devote more of his life to charitable work and helping people in need.
The judge reportedly steered the conversation back to the victims.
"Let's talk about what matters, which is the fact that you single-handedly and voluntarily crashed your car into their home, where people are supposed to be safe and secure, and you killed a man," Brinkley said.
"He had loved ones, and I have shattered — I put holes in their lives I can't possibly fill," Matis said. "I can't undo this."
Bezy's sister, Claire Bezy, was reportedly also inside the home at the time. She described her brother as a "vibrant person, always available to talk to."
"Now there is a void taking his place, and nothing will ever change that. Nothing will bring him back," Claire Bezy said, according to local NBC affiliate WTVJ.
Matis' blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit, according to WPLG, and police alleged he never braked before impact. As Law&Crime previously reported, Matis was driving his 2025 Cadillac Lyriq when he allegedly blew past a stop sign and barreled into the home. His car penetrated the exterior wall, cops said, estimating that he was going around 43 mph at the time of the crash.
Police body camera footage appeared to show Matis confused as officers responded, according to WTVJ.
Bezy was pronounced dead at the scene.
In addition to the six years in prison, Matis will serve probation and must complete 200 hours of community service, WTVJ reported. His driver's license was suspended.
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