Jury Convicts Man of Murder in Crash That Killed 2 Youths

A young Santa Ana man, who led police on a four-mile car chase that left two youths dead, Thursday became the first person in Orange County to be convicted of second-degree murder in a traffic collision.

Ruben M. Valle, 23, was arrested after he drove a stolen van through a stop sign in Costa Mesa on Dec. 19, 1984, and broadsided a car, killing its occupants, Billy Deering and Roy Williamson, both 17. They were students at Estancia High School.

Valle was traveling up to 65 m.p.h. before approaching an intersection at 19th Street and Placentia Avenue, where cars were backed up at a stop sign. Witnesses said he swerved the van into an empty lane and entered the intersection without braking.

When the verdict was read, Vicky Grage, mother of Billy Deering, gasped and said, “Praise the Lord.”

In the past, drivers in such cases usually have been charged with vehicular manslaughter. But a state Supreme Court ruling three years ago allowed murder charges to be filed in alcohol-related traffic cases and opened the way for tougher prosecution on all reckless drivers who cause fatalities.

This is only the second time that Orange County Dist. Atty. Cecil Hicks’ office had sought a murder conviction in a non-alcohol case. The other one, two years ago, was reduced to vehicular manslaughter by a judge before the trial began.

“These are very difficult cases to prosecute, because jurors often cannot relate traffic incidents to murder,” Hicks said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard M. King said, “This jury verdict is significant because it shows that now you can be convicted of murder in Orange County if you use a car to cause someone’s death.”

Valle sat quietly during the reading of the verdict. He turned once toward the audience after Sharon Williamson, mother of the other victim, began crying loudly.

Valle’s defense was that he had a long history of drug abuse, and that large quantities of sugar that he had eaten the day of the collision had affected his mental state. A defense psychologist, Ronald Seaborn, testified that he believed Valle was brain-damaged from his years of drug abuse and was functioning “like a scared rabbit” during the high-speed chase.

But jury foreman James M. Foree of North Tustin said the jurors were influenced by the fact that Valle had the presence of mind to stop at some stop signs during the chase, and then head for the only open lane just before the collision.

“We think he was aware of the possible consequences of his actions, and made his decision anyway,” Foree said.

The jurors deliberated for a day and a half.

Superior Court Judge William F. McDonald set sentencing for March 3. The victims’ parents said they expect to testify then.