Drunk Driver Gets 8 Years in 2 Deaths

Nearly two years after two pedestrians died after being hit by a drunk driver, a 21-year-old Oceanside man convicted of manslaughter was sentenced Thursday to eight years in state prison by a Superior Court judge in Vista.

In September, a jury acquitted Rudy D. Martinez of second-degree murder, but found him guilty of two felony counts each of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Martinez’s blood alcohol level was measured at 0.14% after the crash in February, 1987, when he raced his Chevrolet Camaro at more than 80 m.p.h. through Cardiff streets and struck and killed Daniel McAllister, 19, and Michael Wolf, 25. A person is considered drunk if the blood alcohol level is 0.10% or above.

Plea by Victims’ Parents

Martinez, who has been in jail for the 21 months, sat quietly in front of Judge Tony Maino as the victims’ parents talked about the suffering they have endured and asked that Martinez receive the maximum sentence.

Each count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison, said prosecutor Tom Manning. After the probation officer’s recommendation, Manning asked that Martinez serve a total of eight years in prison.

Although acknowledging the tragedy of the deaths, John Jimenez, a public defender who represented Martinez, said that, because only one crime was committed, a concurrent sentence and four to six years in jail should be imposed. Jimenez first requested that his client serve no prison time and be released on probation.

But Maino quickly dismissed the defense attorney’s original plea.

“This is not an easy case for any judge to sentence,” Maino said. “Everybody involved in this case is so young, and, at the same time, this case is a very serious one.”

Although Maino said he was required by law to consider probation as an option and cited Martinez’s youth and lack of a criminal record as support for such a decision, the judge opted for harsher punishment.

“Mr. Martinez, I cannot give you probation,” Maino said. “Mr. Martinez, I do not think you are an alcoholic; I do not think you are an evil person who enjoys hurting other people. . . . I do not think you are a threat to society.

“This is an extremely unpleasant situation for me, Mr. Martinez,” Maino said, “But the seriousness of the crime and the degree of harm caused to the victims requires me to send you to state prison.”

Jimenez argued that the defendant’s immaturity and lack of previous criminal activity called for a lesser sentence, and he presented 92 letters written by the defendant’s friends testifying to the young man’s good character.

“A very, very, horrible tragic event has occurred, and many here would want to see him spend a maximum number of years in prison, but I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Jimenez said. He said Martinez has been an exemplary inmate during his 21 months in custody.

“This is not a case where we need to lose another young life, and that is what would happen if Mr. Martinez is sent to jail,” Jimenez said.

But Manning, the prosecutor, discredited the defense’s claim that Martinez was unaware of alcohol’s effect.

“Under oath, Mr. Martinez has said that he drinks frequently to the point of intoxication,” Manning said. “He knows the effect of alcohol, but yet gets behind a wheel. He made the decision to drink and drive. He admits to rolling through stop signs . . . he admits to going faster than 80 m.p.h.

“He took a chance with people’s lives and he killed two people,” Manning said. “We need to send a message that, if you drink and drive, you’re going to go to prison. It is our responsibility to send that message.”

Elaine Wolf, the mother of one of the victims, said, “My son was killed by Rudy Martinez. Michael was deprived of his past, his present and his future. We must ensure that this senseless loss of life never happens again.”

A step toward that goal was accomplished with the consecutive sentence, Manning said. Judge Maino issued a six-year sentence for the first count of vehicular manslaughter and required Martinez to serve two more years on the consecutive count. He will be eligible for parole in 32 months.

Sending a Message

“A lot of judges don’t give consecutive sentences (for these crimes),” Manning said. “When people read about this sentencing in the newspapers, see it on TV and realize that they will go to prison for drinking and driving . . . that’s when this will have an impact.”

But Ramon Martinez, the defendant’s father, said the sentence was too severe.

“My son has never been an alcoholic,” Martinez said. “He is hard-working. He is a good person. He’s already served two years in jail. This is too much.”

Jimenez said the sentence will be appealed.

“A tragic accident has occurred, but the number of deaths in this case doesn’t matter,” Jimenez said. “There was one act, one crime. There should be one concurrent sentence. I believe the court erred in giving a consecutive sentence, and that will be the main focus of the appeal.”

Archie McAllister, who lost his son, Daniel, said he was not satisfied with the sentence but calmly accepted the outcome.

“The only way I could be satisfied is if I could get my son back, and that’s impossible,” McAllister said.

“If this can make one person sitting at a bar remember the Martinez trial and make that person say, ‘Gee, maybe I should take a cab’ . . . it would have been worthwhile.”