15 Years in Murder Case : Drunk Driver Gets Prison for Reseda Man’s Death

A Van Nuys man was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison Friday for the drunk-driving murder of a restaurateur.

Ronald J. Lorigo, 28, ran a red light at Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Chandler Boulevard in North Hollywood, striking a car driven by Kazunori Takita. Takita, 33, of Reseda, was returning home from Iroha Sushi, a Studio City restaurant in which he was co-owner.

About an hour after the Nov. 23, 1986 crash, Lorigo’s blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.23%, more than twice the legal standard for drunkenness in California, Deputy Dist. Atty. Edward Nison said.

Prosecution of the case as second-degree murder depended on a theory of “implied malice,” with Nison arguing that Lorigo’s three past drunk-driving arrests made him aware that driving drunk could cause death. On Feb. 5, a Van Nuys Superior Court jury agreed. Lorigo was convicted of second-degree murder, manslaughter and felony drunk driving.

“The facts are really as egregious as I can come up with,” Nison said.

Two of the three misdemeanor drunk-driving cases were pending at the time of Lorigo’s arrest. He pleaded guilty in those two cases and on Friday received a six-month jail sentence for each, with the time to be served concurrently with his murder term.

In 1981, Lorigo pleaded no contest to another misdemeanor drunk-driving charge. He was sentenced to one year probation and fined $500, and was ordered to attend five meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous.

“Had he heeded the warning,” Nison said, “he would not be facing the sentence that he is.”

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Kathryne A. Stoltz noted Lorigo’s past offenses and the seriousness of the 1986 crash. The mandatory prison sentence for second-degree murder is 15 years to life.

Lorigo, an unemployed waiter, told the judge: “There really isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t reflect on what I have done.”

His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Randall A. Megee, said Lorigo plans to appeal his conviction.