Recently in Vehicle Category

David Roberts, 30, was sentenced to 13 years in state prison today for crashing into and killing Bill Cunha, a homeless man, in Carson on Aug. 12, 2007.

Roberts, who had pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run, tearfully apologized to Cunha's family at the Compton Superior Court hearing. He accepted a hug from Cunha's sister, Sheila Cunha, before he was taken to the court's lock-up. Family members of both men said they'd pray for each other.

Larry was in court and heading back. He'll have a full story later at www.dailybreeze.com.

Here's the story.

Deputies wrote 32 tickets and towed two cars away during a 2 1/2 hour crosswalk sting Wednesday in Lawndale.

The sting began about 12:30 p.m. on Hawthorne Boulevard at 156th Street. Six civilian volunteers dressed in street clothes crossed back and forth. Deputies in patrol cars pulled over people who failed to stop for the pedestrians, sheriff's Deputy Tim White said.

Deputies will conduct similar checkpoints in Lawndale about once a month.

A Los Angeles Fire Department assistant chief and his family pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges stemming from a San Pedro hit-and-run and an ensuing cover-up.

Robert Franco, 53, and his wife, Gerri Franco, 49, each pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor conspiracy count and were sentenced to 36 months probation and 30 days of community service, according to Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the City Attorney's office. Their son, Richard Franco, 20, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of hit-and-run. He also got 36 months probation and 30 days of community service for the state Department of Transportation, Mateljan said.

Richard Franco slammed his Toyota Tundra truck into two parked cars on 37th Street around 2 a.m. on Nov. 3. The truck flipped, and he immediately used his cellular telephone to call home, according to prosecutors. His parents arrived a few minutes later and Franco stayed while Mrs. Franco drove their son away. She soon returned and picked up her husband, and they left. However, they returned again minutes later and told responding emergency personnel that Mrs. Franco was behind the wheel.

The truth was learned from neighbors who witnessed the events, prosecutors said.

When charges were filed in May, a fire department spokesman said the department would not take any action against Franco until the criminal case was complete.

Cristian Herrera got one year in jail this morning, as reported by Max Zimbert, who is working up a longer story to go up later on dailybreeze.com and in The Daily Breeze tomorrow.

Previously, we reported that Herrera took a deal that prosecutors didn't like - but the sentencing laws were pretty restrictive, so he wouldn't have received much more if convicted at trial.

Dawn Miley is accused of self-medicating her diabetes and causing a crash that killed Jerome Calevro, 58; his wife, Maria Amelia, 52; daughter Bernadette, 23, and son Jerome Daniel, 15. She took a deal from prosecutors Monday in which she will likely only get probation when she returns to court for sentencing on March 9. The Record-Courier did a great job following this case and has the full update.

I received this letter from Andrew Minassi of Rancho Palos Verdes in response to my story about vehicle burglaries at cemeteries.

I knew that theft and robbery are some of the largest crimes that occur on a day to day basis. However, before reading your article I have never even imagined that criminals would act so low as to break in citizen's cars and steal when they are mourning with their lost loved one. I was taken aback when I read the story of the young woman and her mother who visited the grave of her father and realized her car
has been broken into.

As a child, my parents taught me to always have respect for anyone, let alone the dead. Ever since my grandmother passed, I too visit her resting ground at Green Hills Memorial Park, and not once have I ever thought of our car being broken into. While visiting a grave or burial ground, I believe the visitors are in a state of peace, reconnecting with their loved ones while everything is off their mind except the deceased family or friend. 

Rodrigo Guevara could have faced, at the most, four years in state prison for felony hit-and-run - despite his egregious driving that left one girl severely injured on April 9 in Wilmington. Deputy District Attorney Danette Gomez said she isn't angry with the judge for offering Guevara three years. She's angry that, without intoxication, that the max he could get was four years, according to California Vehicle Code Section 20001(a)(2).

It doesn't get much better when the victim dies. Gomez, who is also prosecuting Cristian Herrera for a 1992 double fatal hit-and-run in San Pedro, said he is facing only eight years and four months maximum if convicted.

Are you angry? You can channel that into something productive by contacting your state representatives. They're in charge of fixing the punishments. Not sure who to contact? Look here and enter your zip code on the left hand side, down a few scrolls.

Previous blog entries on Guevara are here.

I just got word that Rodrigo Guevara pleaded no contest in Long Beach Superior Court on Thursday to one count of felony hit-and-run. He'll return to court Nov. 4 to be sentenced to an expected three years in state prison. The maximum penalty the charge carries is four years.

Working on a fuller story, but don't have much more to add than that at this point.

To read previous entries about this case, click here.