James Ruiz will spend at least the next two decades in prison.

That is longer than either Deshauna, 17, or Del Lynn Peshlakai, 19, lived.

The 36-year-old Ruiz of Albuquerque pleaded guilty Thursday to killing the two sisters from Naschitti, N.M., while driving drunk on Cerrillos Road on March 5, 2010 — plowing his Ford F-250 pickup into the back of a car driven by the Peshlakai family near the Santa Fe Auto Park. The family's dog also was killed in the crash.

"I feel the plea does justice for the (Peshlakai) family and for the state," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Doug Couleur.

The Peshlakai family, not present in court for Thursday's hearing in front of state District Judge Michael Vigil, worked closely with Couleur and fellow Chief Deputy District Attorney Juan Valencia on coming up with the parameters for the plea agreement, according to prosecutors.

"This is absolutely with their blessing," Couleur said.

Police said Ruiz registered a 0.22 blood alcohol content after the crash, nearly three times the level that a driver is presumed drunk in New Mexico.

According to the agreement, Ruiz, who faced up to 66 years, will be sentenced to 40 years in prison with the possibility of being sentenced to the other 26 years if he violates his probation or parole upon his release from prison. With good-time considerations in prison, that sentence could be reduced to 20 years.

The four charges Ruiz pleaded guilty to, all felonies — two counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of great bodily harm by vehicle — actually carry a maximum sentence of just 18 years, but because he agreed not to contest three prior DWI convictions, the state was able to tack on 12 years (four years per prior DWI conviction) to each count for a total of 48 years of habitual offender penalties as a repeat drunken driver.

"That was big for the state," Couleur said. "And with that 26-year tail, that was very important for the family to have at the end of this whenever he does get out."

Defense attorney Ray Twohig said his client has owned up to what he did, and coming up with a deal that would allow him to serve a significant amount of time, but still be able to earn his way out of prison, was important.

"When you represent a client with a case like this with evidence as strong as it was, you really start thinking about trying to find a way to ensure he has some sort of opportunity to have a life after prison," Twohig said. "He has accepted responsibility for his actions and I think this (plea) agreement shows that."

The largest concession the state gave to Ruiz in exchange for his guilty plea was an agreement not to seek classification of the crimes as a serious violent offense. Had they done so, Ruiz would be required to serve a minimum 85 percent of his 40-year sentence, even with good-time considerations. By not seeking that classification, Ruiz, with model behavior in prison, can earn one day off his sentence for every "good" day he serves — a day-for-day agreement with the Department of Corrections.

With almost a year and a half of his sentence already served since the crash, Ruiz's best-case scenario could see him released from prison by age 54.

As Twohig seemed to acknowledged, prosecutors said the evidence in the case was very strong against Ruiz.

"The Santa Fe Police Department and case agent Anthony Tapia did an outstanding job in their investigation," Couleur said. "They made our jobs a whole lot easier on this one."

The crash happened in southwest Santa Fe, not long after the Santa Fe Indian School girls basketball team had defeated Newcomb High in the first round of the 2010 Class AAA girls state basketball tournament.

Deshauna played for Newcomb High while Del Lynn, a former Newcomb player, was at the game with her family to watch her sister. As the family left the game and was traveling southwest on Cerrillos Road toward Interstate 25, Ruiz drove into them.

The SFIS Lady Braves dedicated the rest of the tournament to the Peshlakai family and a week later won the state championship in The Pit in Albuquerque. The team wore T-shirts throughout the tournament with pictures of the sisters on them, and Peshlakai family members led the team in prayer before several tournament games.

"My sisters are now your sisters, too," Shawn Begay, the 35-year-old brother of the Peshlakais, said in a pregame prayer with the Lady Braves in The Pit before a May 9 quarterfinal win over Albuquerque Hope Christian.

After the March 6 crash, police discovered Ruiz had been drinking before the crash at the Blue Corn Cafe & Brewery, 4058 Cerrillos Road. Civil lawsuits are still pending in the case, and Thursday's plea agreement has no bearing on those civil cases.

Ruiz had been arrested five previous times for drunken driving since 1995 and had been in alcohol-treatment programs three times.

According to Thursday's plea agreement, he admitted guilt to a Oct. 16, 2005, DWI in Farmington; a June 7, 2003, DWI in Santa Fe; and a Jan. 30, 2001, DWI in Bernalillo County.

Vigil scheduled sentencing for Oct. 20. The Peshlakai family is expected to be present and address the court prior to the judge's final sentencing.

Contact Geoff Grammer at 986-3076 or ggrammer@sfnewmexican.com. Read his blog at SantaFeCrime.com.