Cyclist/Attorney DJ Wheels wrote the other day to provide updates on pending court cases involving cyclists.
First up is the case of an Orange County woman charged with striking and killing a 49-year old Irvine cyclist in an early morning collision on December 9th, then driving off, leaving a 300 yard pattern of debris — yet amazingly, was forgiven by the victim’s family.
Patricia A. Izquieta (Case #09HF2198) – Victim – Don Murphy
A hearing was held February 18 for arraignment, but no plea was entered yet and arraignment was continued to March 19 at the Santa Ana Courthouse.
She is charged with:
1) one felony count of hit and run with permanent and serious injury – CVC 20001(a)(b)(2)
2) a special allegation of inflicting great bodily harm, which is attached to the hit and run – Penal Code 12022.7(a)
3) one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence – Penal Code 192(c)(2)
4) one misdemeanor count of driving without a valid driver’s license – CVC 12500(a)
Next is the underage driver with a long list of priors who was charged with killing a Santa Clarita man and injuring three others in a drunken hit-and-run; tests showed that in addition to a blood alcohol level over twice the legal limit, he was also high on methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana at the time of the 11 am collision.
Marco Antonio Valencia (Case # PA065011) – Victim – Joeseph Novotny & 3 other injured cyclists
There was a pretrial conference and re-arraignment on January 22. Four separate counts for DUI — two counts of 23153(A) and two counts of 23153(B) — were dropped. I think the charges were initially filed separately for all the various substances that came up in the toxicology report. However, there are still two remaining DUI counts. He plead not guilty to all the charges in the amended complaint. Another pretrial conference is set for March 23 at the San Fernando Courthouse.
1) one felony count of murder with malice aforethought (2nd degree) – PC 187(a)
2) one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence – PC 191.5(a)
3) one felony count of driving under the influence causing bodily injury – CVC 23153(a)
4) one felony count of driving with a BAC over .08 causing bodily injury – CVC 23153(b)
5) four felony counts of hit and run causing serious or permanent injury – CVC 20001(a)
6) one felony count of driving with a suspended or revoked license due to a prior DUI – 14601.2
Then there’s the case of the Malibu driver who fled the scene after running down two riders nearing the end of the L.A. Wheelmen’s 200 mile Grand Tour; killing a father and critically injuring his son. The tragedy was compounded by reports that the driver wasn’t a bad guy, but made a fatal error by driving after drinking, and destroyed two families in the process.
Robert Sam Sanchez (Case # SA071910) – Victim – Rod Armas & Chris Armas injured
A preliminary setting was heard on February 11. The court ordered a pre plea report pursuant to PC 1203.7. Sanchez counsel consented to an pre plea interview, but the defendant may not be interviewed about the facts of the case. The defendant was also ordered to the probation department and also ordered to appear at the next court date, which will be March 11 for another preliminary setting hearing at the Malibu Courthouse.
Charges are still the same as previously reported:
1) one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence – PC 191.5(a)
2) one felony count of driving under the influence causing bodily injury – CVC 23153(a)
3) one felony count of hit and run causing serious or permanent injury – CVC 20001(a)
In another case, the 18-year old driver who hit a cyclist in West Hollywood last December, causing “massive” injuries — including breaks to both hands and extensive facial injuries — fled the scene, but was arrested less than a half mile later; despite her age, she had a small amount of alcohol in her system at the time of her arrest.
Celine Mahdavi (Case #SA073459) – Victim – not named
This is the West Hollywood case, involving a young woman in a luxury SUV who made a left hook, seriously injuring a young male cyclist. Charges were filed in early February by the L.A. D.A.’s office:
1) one felony count of hit and run causing serious or permanent injury – CVC 20001(a)
2) one infraction count of a minor driving with a BAC over .01 – CVC 23136(a)
Mahdavi entered a not guilty plea to both counts on Feb. 25. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for March 22 at the Beverly Hills Courthouse.
In a case that largely went under the radar, an Orange County driver was convicted on the same day the Christopher Thompson verdict was announced in the Mandeville Canyon case. He was accused of killing a 14-year old Huntington Beach boy riding to school in the bike lane on the opposite side of the street, while texting and under the influence of prescription drugs.
Jeffrey Francis Woods (Case #08ZF0040) – victim – Danny Oates
Woods was found guilty by a jury after a 16 day trial. He was sentenced to 6 years state prison, 3 years license revocation and ordered to pay restitution for:
1) one felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated – PC 191.5(a)
However, according to the OC Superior Court website, the status of this case is listed as “APPEAL.” Woods is still in custody.
He also includes an update on one strange, non-bike-related case involving a 71-year old former state legislator who ran over a USC parking attendant after being denied entry last December because he didn’t have the proper parking permit.
Walter Karabian (Case #0EA00275)
Apparently Karabian was trying to enter a lot for which he didn’t have the appropriate parking permit, and ended up hitting the parking attendant with his car, causing some minor injuries. Sheriff responded and arrested him; he was later released on $30,000 bail.
The D.A. rejected it for felony charges and gave it to the City Attorney, but they recused themselves due to a conflict of interest, and handed it back to the D.A. for misdemeanor consideration. Turns out Karabian has a son who is currently a deputy C.A. at the Metro Traffic Court on Hill St.
A single misdemeanor count for assault with a deadly weapon – PC 245(A)(1) was filed in early January at the East Los Angeles Courthouse by the D.A’s office. A motion was filed last month to have the case removed from the initial judge, Elaine Lu, because she might be prejudiced in this case, and the case is now before Judge Henry Barela in Dept. 7. On Feb. 18, Karabian’s defense attorney entered his plea of not guilty on his behalf; this is allowed in most misdemeanor cases. There is a pretrial hearing set for March 24, 2010.
The elder Karabian is a former deputy district attorney, former State Assemblyman and current named partner of a law firm in Monterey Park.
He concludes with the current status of two recently convicted prisoners — the driver accused of the intoxicated hit-and-run death of a Mexican immigrant in Echo Park last April, and the emergency room physician sentenced to 5 years in prison for intentionally injuring two cyclists in Mandeville Canyon on July 4th, 2008.
Alejandro Hidalgo (Case #BA35559301) – Victim – Jesus Castillo
According to the Sheriff’s Inmate locator page, Hidalgo was transferred to Wasco State Prison on January 26, 2010 after pleading guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence – PC 191.5(b). The two year state prison sentence he received in his plea bargain is the middle-term sentence available for this charge.
Christopher T. Thompson (Case #SA06829701) – Victim – Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr
According to the Sheriff’s Inmate locator page, Thompson was also transferred to Wasco State Prison on January 28, 2010.
Thanks to DJ Wheels for his amazing efforts to keep us up to date on all these cases — it’s a lot of work, and very much appreciated.
On a personal note, some people have questioned why I focus on negative aspects of cycling like the cases noted above. The answer is simple. I feel there’s a need to shine a spotlight on crimes like these in order to do whatever we can to ensure that they don’t happen again. And I feel we have an obligation to the victims to make sure that justice is done and that they are not forgotten.
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Streetsblog plans a fundraiser next month honoring winners of this year’s Streetsie awards. A Sacramento cyclist is killed when he “somehow” gets caught beneath a bus; yeah, like that sort of thing just happens. Three thousand riders take part in a soggy Colnago Gran Fondo in San Diego. A great manifesto on feminist cycling. Trek thinks you might confuse their bikes with their with an unrelated winery. Denver prepares to kick off what they call the nation’s first city-wide bike share program, and uses stimulus funds to close gaps in their bikeway system — and they place sharrows on medium to high volume streets, rather than quiet streets where they aren’t needed. Can private businesses cut the locks of bikes parked in the public right-of-way? 1936 sounds a lot like 2010, at least as far as bikes are concerned. Eight months of riding culminates with a final leg from Guadalajara to Playa Real; the photos alone are worth a look. Cyclelicious covers the prologue of this year’s Paris – Nice race, Boom gets off to a good start while Team Sky’s Henderson takes the first stage. The Scheck brothers may leave Saxo Bank to form their own team — and take Cancellara with them. After being denied a chance to take it, a 10-year old girl with cerebral Palsy passes Britain’s Bikeability test. The first of new bike superhighways sponsored by London’s mayor don’t exactly get glowing reviews. Did Germany send the Hitler Youth as to pre-war Britain as “spyclists?” Evidently, British cycling engineers don’t ride bike routes before they select them, either. Looking at the Japanese love affair with electric bikes. A new Dutch system paces cyclists at the correct speed to avoid red lights.
Finally, L.A’s Downtown News reports on the efforts of bike messengers to fight back again bike thieves, including the infamous — and now confirmed — report of stripping two teenaged alleged rim thieves to their underwear and donating their clothes to a homeless shelter.
A few choice comments, a hit-and-run update and a whole lotta links
But first, breaking news as I post this:
Condolences to our friends at the LAPD, who lost one of their own in an off-duty traffic accident tonight. My deepest sympathies to the officer’s family and loved ones, and the entire department.
Seriously guys, we may have our issues from time to time. But this city and its cyclists couldn’t exist without the men and women in blue.
You do an impossible job, and you do it well.
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Some interesting comments posted online today.
First up is our own frequent commenter Danceralamode, responding to another comment on the Times story about Chief Beck’s appearance at yesterday’s Transportation Committee meeting:
Her response:
That girl really should have her own blog. Oh wait, she already does.
Then there was this insightful comment from a cyclist named Jeff:
Finally, there was this comment from an Australian visitor, in response to Damien’s story about the same meeting on Streetsblog:
It’s bad enough that we have to deal with the riding conditions in L.A. on a daily basis. It’s a shame that this is the image visitors to our city will take home with them.
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A break in the investigation of last week’s Riverside hit-and-run death of Thomas Joseph Meeks, and the critical injury of his 15-year old stepbrother, reveals a possible motive for the driver’s failure to stop.
Motorcycle officers scouring the area found a white 1991 Camry that fit witness descriptions, with signs of recent repair work in the areas that would have been damaged in the hit-and-run collision. According to police, the same car may have been involved in a burglary in the parking lot of a Stater Bros. market just minutes before the impact.
Meek’s stepbrother remains in critical condition at Loma Linda University Medical Center; condolences and best wishes to him and his family.
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Thanks to the LACBC’s Dr. Michael Cahn for pointing us towards what maybe be the most sardonic cycling jerseys on the streets. Share the Damn Road, indeed.
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Make you plans for an urban cyclocross through the streets and stairways of Silverlake and Echo Park next month. The LAPD releases the full report on bike-involved collisions in 2008. Streetsblog discovers encouraging signs in Long Beach. The Long Beach Press-Telegram’s 77-year old Outdoor Columnist — and cyclist — urges drivers to share the road. USC’s Neon Tommy blog writes about the cycling community’s new relationship with Chief Beck. The Source covers the opening of the new bike stations in Claremont and Covina. Thanks to Curbed LA — one of my daily reads — Luckman Plaza now has bike parking. C.I.C.L.E.’s Joe Linton examines the new county bike plan, with a list of upcoming input meetings. Safety improvements on a busy San Francisco bike lane put the squeeze on cyclists. Rumors of its death evidently premature, the Idaho Stop law passes the Utah House. Evidently, the two drunk drivers who hit a Portland cyclist last year weren’t the ones who killed him. The 2012 Giro d’Italia kicks off in the sleepy little Italian village of… Washington DC? Car-Free Sundays, aka Via RecreActiva, aka Cyclovia, comes to Guadalajara. Swiss cycling deaths double in 2009. Complaining about cycle-pathic riders in Galway, Ireland, while contra-flow lanes may be coming to Dublin. The appropriately named 90-year old wife of a Bank of Scotland executive is allowed to keep driving, despite smashing into a high-vis clad cyclist. A Worcester UK cyclist and two pedestrians are shot with air rifles. How do you identify hit-and-run cyclists in Singapore?
Finally, in case you’ve fallen behind on your urology journals, the latest research clearly shows a connection between cycling and erectile disfunction in men, and related sexual disfunction in women.
But not (ahem) every cyclist.
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