Tuesday, January 13, 2009
San Diego county man accused of killing pregnant woman enters not guilty plea to DUI crash
San Diego DUI criminal defense attorneys with breath test defenses report new allegations surrounding a Carlsbad man accused of killing a pregnant woman in a hit-and-run crash.
During Monday's arraignment, prosecutor Natalie Villaflor asked Judge Marshall Hockett to raise the bail amount for John Sudac Jr. to $2 million, arguing Sudac is a danger to the community.
"He surrendered himself so that the police didn't have to be here," argued Sudac's defense attorney Herbert Westin in court. "He has significant ties to the community, so he's not a flight risk."
The judge kept bail at $200,000.
Sudac is accused of driving the vehicle that hit an SUV at one in the morning last Sunday on Interstate-5. Yine Gonzalez Angeles and her unborn baby were partially ejected from the SUV and both died. Sudac fled the scene but turned himself in later that night.
Villaflor told the court, witnesses saw Sudac driving recklessly and speeding over 100 miles an hour just before the crash. She also says he destroyed evidence of his whereabouts earlier that day.
"There was a shredded Chargers ticket from the January 3rd playoff game that was found in the shredder," Villaflor says.
She adds that all voice messages, incoming and outgoing calls were erased from his cell phone but text messages remained.
"There were a text message after the Chargers game that related to 'Come up -- let's do vodka shots,'" she says.
Villaflor also told the court about a conversation one witness overheard.
"One of the witnesses believes the defendant was on his cell phone outside by the collision scene by the guard rail on his cell phone saying 'I’ve been in a horrible accident -- get me the f*** out of here,'" she says.
Silent, and guarded by about a dozen family members, Sudac left the Vista courtroom after pleading not guilty to the charges.
Sudac's defense attorney did not want to comment to the media after the arraignment. Sudac's charges include gross vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run.
Prosecutor Villaflor says an additional DUI charge could be possible when the toxicology report comes back, saying marijuana was found in his vehicle.
Authorities are still looking for the passenger in Sudac's car the night of the crash.
During Monday's arraignment, prosecutor Natalie Villaflor asked Judge Marshall Hockett to raise the bail amount for John Sudac Jr. to $2 million, arguing Sudac is a danger to the community.
"He surrendered himself so that the police didn't have to be here," argued Sudac's defense attorney Herbert Westin in court. "He has significant ties to the community, so he's not a flight risk."
The judge kept bail at $200,000.
Sudac is accused of driving the vehicle that hit an SUV at one in the morning last Sunday on Interstate-5. Yine Gonzalez Angeles and her unborn baby were partially ejected from the SUV and both died. Sudac fled the scene but turned himself in later that night.
Villaflor told the court, witnesses saw Sudac driving recklessly and speeding over 100 miles an hour just before the crash. She also says he destroyed evidence of his whereabouts earlier that day.
"There was a shredded Chargers ticket from the January 3rd playoff game that was found in the shredder," Villaflor says.
She adds that all voice messages, incoming and outgoing calls were erased from his cell phone but text messages remained.
"There were a text message after the Chargers game that related to 'Come up -- let's do vodka shots,'" she says.
Villaflor also told the court about a conversation one witness overheard.
"One of the witnesses believes the defendant was on his cell phone outside by the collision scene by the guard rail on his cell phone saying 'I’ve been in a horrible accident -- get me the f*** out of here,'" she says.
Silent, and guarded by about a dozen family members, Sudac left the Vista courtroom after pleading not guilty to the charges.
Sudac's defense attorney did not want to comment to the media after the arraignment. Sudac's charges include gross vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run.
Prosecutor Villaflor says an additional DUI charge could be possible when the toxicology report comes back, saying marijuana was found in his vehicle.
Authorities are still looking for the passenger in Sudac's car the night of the crash.
# posted by SanDiegoDUI @ 4:16 PM 
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