Oceanside

A Vista Superior Court jury has convicted a 27-year-old Marine of two counts of second-degree murder--the first verdict of its type in San Diego County to stem from charges of felony drunk driving.

Dennis Butler will be sentenced July 14 when, prosecutors say, they will ask that he be sentenced to two consecutive 15 years-to-life prison terms on each murder count for the deaths of two men in the Feb. 27 crash in Oceanside.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gary Rempel said Butler is only the second person in California without a history of drunk driving arrests to be convicted of murder in connection with drunk driving.

Butler was found guilty of 10 other counts on Tuesday, including vehicular manslaughter and felony drunk driving, after only two hours of jury deliberations.

Killed in the crash were Victor Donnan, 20, a passenger in Butler’s vehicle, and Craig Netteland, 31, whose vehicle was struck head-on by Butler’s as Butler was driving more than 100 m.p.h. on Mission Avenue in Oceanside.

Butler had received a traffic citation for speeding just two hours before the fatal crash, at which time he was warned by an officer that his driving could lead to a death, according to trial testimony.

Butler, who had been free on his own recognizance pending the trial, was ordered held in jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.