An apparent attempt to weaken a defense attorney’s claims in the
Robert Orabuena case may end up making it stronger.
Orabuena, 41, of Gilroy, is scheduled to go on trial today for
misdemeanor charges of vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving and
one vehicle code infraction of driving without proof of
insurance.
The charges against Orabuena stem from a July 4 accident on
Fairview Road that ended with the death of David Judnick, 48, of
Salinas.
An apparent attempt to weaken a defense attorney’s claims in the Robert Orabuena case may end up making it stronger.
Orabuena, 41, of Gilroy, is scheduled to go on trial today for misdemeanor charges of vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving and one vehicle code infraction of driving without proof of insurance.
The charges against Orabuena stem from a July 4 accident on Fairview Road that ended with the death of David Judnick, 48, of Salinas.
Local attorney Arthur Cantu, who has successfully defended Orabuena against charges of second-degree murder and felony vehicular manslaughter, said he believes an attempt by prosecutors to tear down the defense case has backfired.
To disprove the defense’s claim that Judnick was traveling at an excessively high rate of speed, which contributed to the accident, prosecutors asked the California Highway Patrol to measure the weight of Orabuena’s van using a crane, Cantu said.
Deputy District Attorney Denny Wei declined to comment on the weighing of the van.
“As a policy, we do not talk about the facts of a case,” Wei said.
The idea behind weighing the van, which Judnick crashed into, was to prove it weighed less than Cantu had estimated it did.
An expert estimated Judnick’s speed based partially on the distance Orabuena’s van was moved when Judnick crashed into it.
The impact speed was originally estimated to be between 68 and 75 mph, according to court testimony.
If the van weighs less than the 2,900 pounds that Cantu’s expert estimated, then Judnick would have been traveling at a much slower speed than estimated.
However, the van weighed in at 3,211 pounds – 311 pounds heavier than the earlier estimate.
“That means that Judnick was traveling even faster than our earlier estimates,” Cantu said.
With the added bit of information, Cantu said he is ready to have the jury hear all of the information in the case.
“I have the utmost confidence in the jurors of this county to reach the conclusion that we reached as far back as August, and that Mr. Orabuena was not at fault,” Cantu said. “This was the fault of the driver of the motorcycle, Mr. Judnick, who was driving at a recklessly high rate of speed.”
At the same time, Cantu said his effort in court is not intended to tarnish the memory or reputation of Judnick.
“I’ve never met the man, and I’m sure he was a great man,” Cantu said. “In fact, I lost a good friend on Oct. 10 who was riding on a Harley-Davidson, a deputy sheriff out of San Martin.
“But the question of fault is a far different cry from who is on the bike,” he said.
He said the prosecution of Orabuena is a complete waste of time and the taxpayer’s money because District Attorney John Sarsfield should have seen the case for what it was, a tragic accident and left it at that.
“Instead of spending the past eight months researching all the severe and violent felonies to help defendants, he should have spent that time trying to learn how to win a trial,” Cantu said. “We believe that he is wasting thousands of dollars on a case that should have been thrown away.”
