It is simply hard to believe that Robert Orabuena will likely
again stand trial this week in San Benito County.
The 41-year-old Gilroy resident has already sat in jail for a
month, faced second-degree murder and felony vehicular manslaughter
charges
– which were dropped – and is now still charged with misdemeanor
vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving and driving without proof
of insurance.
It is simply hard to believe that Robert Orabuena will likely again stand trial this week in San Benito County.
The 41-year-old Gilroy resident has already sat in jail for a month, faced second-degree murder and felony vehicular manslaughter charges – which were dropped – and is now still charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving and driving without proof of insurance.
All of the charges go back to a fatal accident on July 4, 2003 on Fairview Road that resulted in the death of motorcyclist David Judnick, 48, of Salinas.
To say that Orabuena has been put through hell in the past four months would be an understatement.
It was initially thought by police and prosecutors that he was driving under the influence of drugs, which was finally disproved after a lengthy testing period.
And he lost his job at Charter Communications while in jail, along with knowing that his family was without him for the time he was incarcerated, some of which was in lieu of a hefty bail.
But it has been consistently proven by defense attorney Arthur Cantu that this is nothing more than a tragic accident. And friends and family of the defendant rallied around him as well.
Cantu successfully brought in an expert witness whose testimony helped drop the felony charges by showing the motorcycle hit Orabuena’s van at a high rate of speed.
There is no reason to believe Cantu will be unable to show it again, maybe even more definitive this time around.
Why District Attorney John Sarsfield continues to pursue this case is beyond us and just about every local legal expert we have consulted.
It even smacks of prejudice – Orabuena is Hispanic – although we hope that is not part of the already faulty equation and procedure.
Sarsfield and prosecutor Denny Wei have followed the DA’s office policy of not commenting on a case while it is being tried.
We will show no such restraint.
All of the charges against Orabuena, except perhaps the insurance infraction, should be dropped before more taxpayer money is wasted on a jury trial that has no real chance of a conviction, judging by how the case has proceeded.
More important, this case should be ended because of fairness – or the alarming lack of it thus far.
Robert Orabuena and his family have already been severely punished for simply being involved in a tragic, but accidental, traffic fatality.
