My News LA updated readers on the jury selection process for a felon, now accused of driving drunk when he caused a collision killing two people north of Desert Center, one of the final steps before opening arguments of the felon’s trial on Monday, October 26.
According to prosecutors, a 21-year-old Anza man with a prior former felony conviction faces a maximum prison sentence of 32 years and four months if he is convicted of all charges levied against him, including two counts of DUI gross vehicular manslaughter and one count each of driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury and driving with a blood-alcohol content exceeding .08% causing bodily injury, along with several sentence-enhancing allegations. These charges stem from a car accident on June 29, 2018 on State Route 62 just east of State Route 177. The young man was eighteen at the time of the horrific accident, and has been out on bail while awaiting trial.
The young man and several friends were headed toward Parker, Arizona for Fourth of July celebrations near Lake Havasu and were eastbound on State Route 62 when the young man’s truck entered the westbound lane and collided head-on with a pickup driven by a 57-year-old Banning Man. That man was killed, as was a 20-year-old Anza woman who was the passenger of the suspect.
