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 News from Around the Americas | April 2006 
Immigrant Smuggler Once More Convicted of Murder
 Jose Luis Jiménez - SD Union-Tribune
| | Sanchez, a Mexican citizen, faces a maximum sentence of 45 years to life in prison when he is sentenced June 2 on three counts of second-degree murder. |
Vista, CA – An immigrant smuggler was convicted yesterday of second-degree murder for killing three illegal immigrants in a high-speed crash while fleeing the California Highway Patrol near Borrego Springs.
Antonio Sanchez, 30, showed no reaction to the verdict, which marked the second time a jury has found him guilty of murder for the deaths stemming from the June 26, 2003, accident. An appellate court overturned the original murder convictions after the state Supreme Court changed the law under which Sanchez was first found guilty.
Shortly after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near El Centro, Sanchez was driving a Ford LTD on state Route 78 near Borrego Springs when he saw a CHP officer. Sanchez sped away, lost control on a curve while driving an estimated 80 mph and collided with a car coming from the opposite direction, according to testimony.
Killed were back-seat passengers Mario Perez Ortega, Leonardo Sanchez Placido and Erendira Jimenez Garcia, while Tony Hayes, the driver of the other car, was seriously injured but survived.
Sanchez, a Mexican citizen, faces a maximum sentence of 45 years to life in prison when he is sentenced June 2 on three counts of second-degree murder. The sentence will be added to the eight-year term from his first trial, where he was convicted of evading police and causing great bodily injury.
Jurors, who could not be reached for comment afterward, deliberated for about seven hours before finding Sanchez guilty.
With its verdict, the panel adopted the prosecution's “implied malice” theory, which meant Sanchez knew that fleeing the CHP at high speed on a two-lane road could lead to someone's death, prosecutor Anthony Campagna said.
“The law was clear in this case, and the facts supported the verdict,” Campagna said.
Deputy Public Defender Sloan Ostbye said she was “very disappointed” in the verdict. She argued during the trial that her client panicked at seeing the CHP officer and had no intention to harm anyone.
Ironically, the CHP officer was going to cite a different motorist when Sanchez saw him and fled, prompting the officer to chase Sanchez instead.
“He has always said he just wanted this over with,” Ostbye said. “He acknowledges it was a horrible accident.”
Sanchez originally was found guilty of three counts of second-degree murder by a Vista jury in March 2004. That panel based the conviction on a state law that allows a defendant to be convicted of murder if someone dies while the defendant is committing an inherently dangerous act, which in this case was fleeing a police officer.
Ten months later, the state Supreme Court changed the law when the justices ruled that a murder conviction cannot be based solely on the inherently dangerous act of fleeing a police officer because it is only a violation of the state vehicle code.
In August, a local appellate court reversed Sanchez's convictions based on the higher court's decision, which prompted the District Attorney's Office to refile the charges.
Jose Jimenez: (760) 737-7568; jose.jimenez@uniontrib.com |
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