| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: April 23, 2025 Case #: 21WF3094
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Orange County District Attorney Issues Statement on DUI Driver Who Killed Two
Teenagers to Be Released Early after Serving Just Fraction of Sentence
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer released the following statement:
A convicted felon who was twice previously deported is being released after serving just a fraction of his sentence for killing two 19-year-olds because California Governor Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature refuse to hold criminals accountable.
This was not a plea deal. This was a defendant who pled to the Court and was sentenced by a judge under California law, over the objection of Orange County prosecutors, who unsuccessfully argued for the maximum sentence.
Years of California’s crusade to put the rights of criminals over the rights of victims has resulted in the unimaginable pain inflicted on the grief-stricken parents of 19-year-old Anna M. and 19-year-old Nicholay O. who had to be told that the man who killed their children while driving drunk and high at more than 100 miles per hour is considered a “non-violent” offender under California law, is eligible for early release, and will serve less than 50 percent of his sentence.
Killing two human beings while drunk is anything but non-violent.
But in California, someone convicted of driving drunk and injuring someone would actually spend more time behind bars than a driver who kills while under the influence. A disgusting fact that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has repeatedly tried to correct, lobbying for stronger laws to prevent DUI drivers from being eligible for additional credits to enable early release, and to increase punishment for DUI drivers who kill someone.
Instead of standing up for victims and preventing future victims, the state Legislature killed those bills. And on our roads people keep dying while their killers get nothing but a slap on the wrist.
California’s creative concoction of good time, education, and other credits has resulted in criminals being released quicker than ever before, fulfilling Governor Newsom’s plot to empty California’s prisons and put dangerous and violent felons back on the street.
This is not a failure by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. It is another stab to the heart of victims across California by Governor Newsom and a state Legislature who are hell-bent on releasing as many criminals as possible without any accountability and without any punishment.
And Californians are paying the price.
Click here for the Full Press Release.
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