DRUNK DRIVER GUILTY OF MURDER GRANDMOTHER KILLED WHEN 6-TIMES-CONVICTED MOTORIST RAN RED LIGHT.Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer LANCASTER -- A six-time drunk driver blamed for a crash that killed a Lancaster grandmother has been convicted of second-degree murder and other charges. Christopher Martinez, 42, of Lancaster tested at a blood-alcohol level of .17percent -- more than twice the legal limit -- after his sport utility vehicle ran a red light and collided with a van, killing the van's driver, Vanessa Ashford Wiley, 48. An Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Superior Court jury deliberated about four hours before convicting Martinez on Monday of the murder charge, gross vehicular manslaughter vehicular manslaughter n. the crime of causing the death of a human being due to illegal driving of an automobile, including gross negligence, drunk driving, reckless driving, or speeding. while intoxicated in·tox·i·cate v. in·tox·i·cat·ed, in·tox·i·cat·ing, in·tox·i·cates v.tr. 1. To stupefy or excite by the action of a chemical substance such as alcohol. 2. and two counts of driving under the influence causing injury. Martinez, who has been jailed without bail since his arrest at a hospital after the Aug.25, 2004, crash, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec.14. Martinez had been convicted of misdemeanor drunk driving -- which means no one was injured -- once in 1984, three times in 1989 and twice in 1999, prosecutors said. Wiley was the mother of four adult children and the grandmother of two. She also had 10 brothers and sisters, prosecutors said. ``The verdict simply compounds the tragedy in this case,'' said defense attorney Sharon Morris of the law firm Triessl and Morris. ``We plan on filing for a motion for a new trial motion for a new trial n. a request made by the loser for the case to be tried again on the basis that there were significant legal errors in the way the trial was conducted and/or the jury or the judge sitting without a jury obviously came to an incorrect result. . We believe there will be a vigorously fought appeal.'' Wiley was killed when her Dodge van Dodge Van may refer to:
The Toyota 4Runner is an SUV manufactured by Toyota and sold in countries such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Chile from 1984 to the present. on Avenue K at 40th Street West. The force of the impact caused both vehicles to flip over, throwing Wiley from her van and a passenger from Martinez's SUV. The crash seriously injured Martinez's two passengers. Martinez suffered minor injuries and was arrested at Antelope Valley Hospital, prosecutors said. karen.maeshiro@dailynews.com (661) 267-5744 |
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