LAKEPORT — A judge set the preliminary hearing against a Kelseyville man Friday who pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder.
Alejandro Arias, 28, is scheduled for his preliminary hearing, which is expected to take several hours, on July 20.
He allegedly caused the death of a woman in a September crash.
Arias pleaded not guilty to the charges, including second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter and three counts of reckless driving causing great bodily injury. He also denied three special allegations that he caused great bodily injury to the three victims. The charges and allegations carry a sentence of 21 years to life in prison.
Arias allegedly drove through a red light about 100 mph Sept. 11 on Highway 29 at Highway 175 Hopland near Lakeport, crashed into Charlane Hill”s car, killing her and severely injuring her two passengers, California Highway Patrol reported. Hill was 41.
The Lake County Sheriff”s Coroner pronounced Hill dead at the scene.
Hill”s right-front passenger, Maria Holt, 40, of Clearlake, and Hill”s 10-year-old niece Elizabeth Hill, who was in the back seat, were flown to out-of-county hospitals for their major injuries, CHP reported.
CHP officers arrested Arias the night of the crash, but because he went to the hospital and law enforcement officers were continuing their investigation, Arias wasn”t taken into custody at the Lake County Jail until March 31, said John Langan, senior deputy district attorney prosecuting the case. Arias remains in custody with a $500,000-bail.
Law enforcement officers are still investigating whether Arias was intoxicated at the time, Langan said. On Friday, Arias waived time and will return to court July 9 for a pre-preliminary conference and July 16 for trial assignment.
After the District Attorney”s Office reviewed Arias” extensive driving record with violations in California and Oregon and evidence that showed Arias personally modified and raced his Mustang in the past, the office charged that Arias displayed a reckless indifference to the unjustifiably high risk of danger to human life.?
“This conscious disregard for the obvious danger to human life is called ?implied malice,” and elevates the crime that caused the death of Ms. Hill to second-degree murder,” Langan said in a press release.
Contact Katy Sweeny at kdsweeny@gmail.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
