Drunk Driver Again Sentenced to Four Years for Manslaughter

A four-year prison sentence was imposed Thursday on a 22-year-old man whose drunk-driving accident caused the death of another driver.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Wayne Peterson sent Paul Joseph Clark, 22, of Rancho Penasquitos, to prison for vehicular manslaughter. Clark was also fined $500.

The case was watched closely by representatives of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Clark had earlier been sentenced by another judge but a resentencing was ordered by an appeal court.

Clark had pleaded guilty in the March 23, 1987, crash that fatally injured William Mikels, 20, of Poway, who died three days later.

The victim’s mother, Tommie Mikels of Poway, told the judge that it was a year ago Thursday when the doctor informed her that her son was brain dead.

“We were in a small room at Palomar Hospital and the neurosurgeon told us the sentence that Paul Clark imposed on our son--death,” Mikels testified.

Mikels said her son was on the way to the hospital to see his 3-day-old son when Clark’s car hit his vehicle head-on at 80 m.p.h. on Camino del Norte off Interstate 15 in Poway.

“A year ago yesterday (Clark) had a choice to drink and drive. Did our son have a choice?” the victim’s mother said.

Peterson denied probation for Clark, even though both the county Probation Department and officials at Chino State Prison recommended that he be placed on probation.

Clark spent 100 days at the prison after Peterson ordered that he undergo a sociological and psychological study.

His attorney, Charles Sevilla, said more prison time was not necessary because “the point has been made with him. He has seen the inside of a prison. He knows what it’s like. He’s not a bad person. He’s a good person. He has been shaken by the experience. He has been profoundly remorseful.”

But Jerry Mikels, the victim’s brother, disputed that Clark was remorseful.

“He hasn’t shown any remorse to me. He hasn’t sent any letter to my mom and me,” Mikels said. “I feel sorry for him. I forgive him, but society needs to be protected.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Greg Walden said the accident occurred when Clark was chasing a young woman in her car at a high rate of speed and lost control of his car. His blood-alcohol level was 0.10, the legal limit for intoxication. Walden said Clark was also driving without insurance.

Both the defendant’s brother and his father testified that Paul Clark was remorseful. His brother, John Clark, told the judge he thought the victim’s family wanted revenge.

The defendant told the judge, “This has scarred me for the rest of my life. I will not take a sip of alcohol. I don’t see what good it will do to put me back in jail or prison.”

Last year Clark was sentenced to four years in prison by another judge. An appellate court reversed the sentence and ordered a new sentencing by a different judge after it was revealed that Mrs. Mikels had talked with the sentencing judge about drunk driving laws.

At the time, Municipal Judge Robert Cooney put it on the record that he had talked with the mother about the subject, but not about Clark’s case. The Court of Appeal reversed the sentence anyway.