Restaurant Owner Died : Jury Convicts Motorist of Murder, Drunk Driving

Ronald J. Lorigo, who ran a red light in November, 1986, and killed a motorist, was convicted Friday of second-degree murder.

After deliberating for seven hours, a Van Nuys Superior Court jury found that Lorigo, 27, of Van Nuys acted with malice and gross negligence, and found him guilty of murder, manslaughter and two counts of felony drunk driving.

He faces 15 years to life in prison, prosecutors said. Judge Kathryne A. Stoltz is scheduled to sentence him March 4.

The Nov. 23 collision at the intersection of Chandler Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon Avenue in North Hollywood killed Kazunori Takita, 33, as he was returning home from Iroha Sushi of Tokyo, a Japanese restaurant that he co-owned in Studio City.

Takita was driving north on Coldwater Canyon at 12:45 a.m. when Lorigo, who was driving east on Chandler, ran a red light and hit Takita’s car broadside, prosecutors said.

About an hour after the accident, Lorigo’s blood-alcohol content measured 0.23%, more than twice the level at which someone is considered intoxicated in California, prosecutors said.

Lorigo’s attorney, Randall A. Megee, conceded that his client was intoxicated and that he was driving too fast. But he argued that Lorigo did not recognize that his actions would harm others, an element necessary for conviction in a second-degree murder case.

“If he’s drunk, there is no implied malice,” Megee said.

But jury foreman William Curry, 60, said Lorigo’s three previous drunk-driving arrests convinced jurors that he knew he was unable to safely operate a car while intoxicated.

There were two misdemeanor charges of drunk driving pending against Lorigo at the time of the accident. He pleaded guilty to both counts and will be sentenced after his felony sentencing, prosecutors said.

In 1981, Lorigo pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence. He was sentenced to one year on probation, fined more than $500 and ordered to attend five meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous.

One witness to the Nov. 23 accident, James Miller, testified during pretrial proceedings that he saw Lorigo run three red lights along Chandler. Deputy Dist. Atty. Edward Nison said Lorigo was traveling 60 to 80 m.p.h. in a 30-m.p.h. zone.