LAKEPORT — A judge Monday postponed pretrial proceedings for a man charged with killing two passengers in a rollover crash last summer.
Jacobo Lopez Mejia, 24, faces four felonies — including two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated — and one misdemeanor in connection with the fatal incident along Merritt Road in Kelseyville.
Authorities allege he was under the influence while driving a Ford truck on the night of Aug. 18 and lost control of the vehicle, which then went off of the road and overturned several times.
Two of the passengers, Hector Chavez Perez and Florentino Leon Flores, died at the scene. The remaining four occupants, including Lopez Mejia, were reportedly taken to various hospitals.
Lopez Mejia pleaded not guilty to the five counts and denied all special allegations in the case.
He appeared in Judge David W. Herrick”s Lakeport courtroom Monday afternoon for a settlement conference.
Doug Rhoades, who represents Lopez Mejia, asked Herrick to delay the hearing for two weeks while the District Attorney”s Office considers a defense offer to resolve the case.
The judge rescheduled the settlement conference for April 16 at 2:30 p.m. in Department 1.
If negotiations fail, Lopez Mejia will also have a trial-readiness hearing that day. The trial is currently set for mid-June.
District Attorney Don Anderson said Monday he is reviewing the entire case with prosecutor John Langan. The chance of the matter settling before trial is “more than 50-50,” according to Anderson.
