Officials say the sentence handed down last week to the
Hollister woman convicted of killing a motorcyclist last Fourth of
July while driving drunk was fair under the circumstances, despite
the victim’s family members’ displeasure at her sentence that would
allow her to be free after 30 days.
Hollister – Officials say the sentence handed down last week to the Hollister woman convicted of killing a motorcyclist last Fourth of July while driving drunk was fair under the circumstances, despite the victim’s family members’ displeasure at her sentence that would allow her to be free after 30 days.
Hollister resident and admitted alcoholic Dolores Ortiz Garcia, 38, whose blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, killed 53-year-old Lompoc resident Richard Flores during a head-on collision last July – the night before the start of the Hollister Independence Rally. The collision ejected Flores from his motorcycle, severing a leg. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
Garcia’s eight-month jail sentence for felony vehicular manslaughter was based in part on a recommendation from the San Benito County Probation Department. The report, which examines several different factors in the case, recommended that Garcia get felony probation for six years because she did not have any prior criminal record, showed remorse, and her employment and 11-year-old son would have been “severely” affected by a prison sentence.
The report also said that Garcia was a “productive member of society who made a grave mistake.” Garcia apologized to Flores’ family, showed remorse and wasn’t considered a risk to the community, according the report. Sheree Flores, the widow of Richard Flores, along with his family members were outraged after the sentencing hearing last week. Sheree Flores had asked San Benito County Superior Court Judge Steve Sanders to make an example of Garcia and was frustrated with the outcome.
Flores’ brother, Darryl Munn, agreed.
“It is no wonder that drunk driving is rampant is California,” he said in a statement to the Free Lance. “Judges like this who care nothing about human life or the taking of a human life are now sending a message to San Benito County residents and California that drunk driving is OK even if you kill someone.”
Sanders was ultimately responsible for imposing the sentence, but said he was not at liberty to talk about the factors in his decision to impose the 240-day sentence because the case is on-going.
Chief Probation Officer Deborah Botts could not be reached for comment Friday, but previously told the Free Lance that Garcia’s clean juvenile, adult and driving record was a significant factor in the recommendation for probation.
Garcia, who admitted to being an alcoholic, has attended hundreds of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings since being arrested last July, her attorney Greg LaForge said.
“I think the sentence was clearly appropriate,” he said. “It’s consistent with other manslaughter sentences in this community.”
District Attorney John Sarsfield agreed. He compared Garcia’s sentence to that of Robert Orabuena, who was sentenced to one year in the San Benito County Jail in 2003 after being convicted of vehicular manslaughter for killing a motorcyclist from Salinas during that year’s Independence Rally. Orabuena was not intoxicated at the time, but a jury determined he was partially responsible for the accident.
“The difference between this case and Orabuena is that he never accepted responsibility for his actions,” Sarsfield said Friday. “Orabuena also had an extensive criminal record and had been in prison.”
Deputy District Attorney Candice Hooper prosecuted Garcia, but did not object to Sanders’ sentence.
Sarsfield said his office had asked for the mid-term sentence of four to six years in prison, but wasn’t surprised by Sanders’ judgment. Asking for the maximum sentence of 10 years wouldn’t have been fair, Sarsfield said, although Flores’ family members expected nothing less.
“When you ask for the maximum you have to be serious – no judge would have given her 10 years,” he said. “Was this more aggravated than other manslaughter cases? The answer is no.”
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
