Drunk Driver Gets 15 Years in Girl’s Death

James Benjamin Masoner was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison Friday for the drunk-driving murder of a 4-year-old girl killed when Masoner’s auto crashed into her family’s home near Universal City.

The sentence was the maximum under state law. Masoner, 47, will be eligible for parole in 7 1/2 years.

“I hope that this is some kind of a deterrent factor,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner said outside the courtroom after Masoner was sentenced and led away in handcuffs.

Masoner, an insurance salesman, was convicted by a jury last month of killing Jessica Shaner on March 4 when his car plowed into the home of Timothy and Barbara Shaner in the 3800 block of Broadlawn Drive.

Masoner’s blood-alcohol level measured 0.23%, more than twice the legal limit, two hours after the crash. According to testimony at his trial, Masoner’s associates told him several times the night of the crash that he was too drunk to drive.

After two companions drove him from an office party to a spot near his home, he climbed into his car, sped away and crashed into the Shaner house a block away.

Before passing sentence, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Florence T. Pickard denied a motion by Masoner’s lawyer for a new trial.

Attorney Thomas M. Byrne told the judge that Masoner’s actions on that March evening stemmed from “stupidity and gross negligence, but there is no evidence that he had the necessary mind-set for murder.”

Byrne also noted Masoner’s record as an upstanding citizen, with the exception of a 1982 drunk-driving conviction. “Everything he’s done in his life can’t be for nothing,” Byrne said.

But Pickard responded that the 1982 conviction and the death of the girl have “to count for something.”

The sentencing hearing included emotional testimony from the dead girl’s parents, who now live in Newhall.

“This is a picture of my daughter,” said Timothy Shaner, 40, displaying a color photograph. “She was a person. . . . Her life was taken from us in a split second.” He referred to the crash as demolishing his home “like so much scrap metal.”

Barbara Shaner, 35, said tearfully, “I just hope the court will make the punishment commensurate with the crime. My daughter was murdered.”

Two of Masoner’s associates testified at the trial that they and Masoner spent much of March 4 mixing business with alcohol, beginning with drinks at lunch and ending at an office party that evening.

Believing that Masoner should not drive, the two men drove him from the party, at the Los Angeles Club on Wilshire Boulevard. They arrived at Masoner’s hillside neighborhood in two cars.

As the associates sat in one car, however, Masoner climbed into his own vehicle and drove away, heading downhill away from his home and toward the Shaner house, which was at a sharp bend of Broadlawn Drive.

Jessica Shaner was asleep in the den of her home. Her mother said Friday that the girl had been watching a favorite cartoon show on television and was wearing her favorite clothing, a ballerina outfit.

Infant Escaped Injury

The car crashed through the den and came to a stop in the master bedroom, where Timothy Shaner was napping and within inches of the Shaner’s infant son, Morgan. Barbara Shaner was cut by flying glass.

The speed was not estimated because investigators found no skid marks that normally appear when a car’s brakes are applied.

In a probation officer’s report, Masoner repeated his defense at the trial that the car’s accelerator had jammed. But the report said Masoner is remorseful and quoted him attributing the incident to “stupidity and negligence.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. John K. Spillane said Masoner’s image as “a regular guy” and “a defendant people can relate to” should play a role in deterring others from drinking and driving.

Reiner said the case ought to send everyone a message that “there is no moral distinction between the drunk driver who gets home safely and the drunk driver who kills.”

Reiner added that he plans this year to ask the state Legislature to enact a mandatory minimum jail sentence for first-time convicted drunk drivers.

Pickard set bail at $400,000 pending Masoner’s appeal, which is likely to center on the accelerator. The issue “seems to be a fact no one wants to deal with,” Byrne said.

The appeal also will argue that Masoner was too drunk to form the “subjective awareness” that his driving could kill someone, Byrne said.

Byrne said he did not know whether Masoner had enough funds to make bail.