LAKEPORT — A judge Monday scheduled a July start date for the jury trial of a Kelseyville man charged with second-degree murder and other felonies for allegedly causing a September 2009 crash that led to the death of 41-year-old Charlane Hill.
Judge Andrew S. Blum made the ruling during a brief arraignment hearing at the Lake County Courthouse.
Alejandro Aurelio Arias, 29, remains in custody and faces four felony charges, including second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter and two counts of reckless driving causing injury.
Authorities allege that Arias drove through a red light at the intersection of highways 29 and 175 in Lakeport while traveling around 100 mph on Sept. 11, 2009 and crashed into another car, killing the driver and severely injuring two passengers.
Hill was pronounced dead at the scene, while the two severely injured passengers were flown to out-of-county hospitals at the time. Arias also spent time in the hospital while being treated for injuries sustained in the crash.
Judge Stephen O. Hedstrom ordered Arias to stand trial for the charges related to the incident following a two-day preliminary hearing in February.
Blum scheduled the jury trial to begin July 11 after Arias pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied all special allegations contained within the arraignment information provided Monday.
Arias will next be in court on June 20 at 8:15 a.m. in Department 3 for the first of three pre-trial hearings.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
