SAN CLEMENTE : Youth Free Pending Trial in Fatal Crash

A 17-year-old was released to the custody of his parents Monday after he was arrested and charged last week with vehicular manslaughter for allegedly driving the car in which three San Clemente High School classmates were killed May 19.

During a closed hearing, Juvenile Court Commissioner Frank Gould released the youth, whose name was withheld because of his age, from Juvenile Hall on condition that he be barred from driving while the case is pending, Deputy Dist. Atty. Kathi Harper said. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for Aug. 6.

The youth was arrested Saturday after three counts of vehicular manslaughter were filed against him the day before.

On May 19, five teen-agers were in a 1988 Jaguar when it went out of control at an estimated 120 m.p.h. along a narrow stretch of Avenida Pico. Police say teen-agers use this stretch of roadway for drag-racing.

Those killed included David Martinez, 16, his brother Marco Martinez, 17, and Abel Aguilar Jr., 18, all of San Clemente. Another student in the car, Thomas Sheehan, listed as a resident of San Juan Capistrano, suffered two broken legs. The 17-year-old who is charged in the case suffered minor injuries.

Prosecutors allege that the 17-year-old was driving the car. But the juvenile’s attorney, Ramon Gomez, said the youth was not behind the wheel when the accident occurred.

“He wasn’t driving,” Gomez said. “All the evidence in this case is extremely circumstantial.”

He said that prosecutors are basing their case on “fleeting identification from witnesses that the driver was wearing very similar clothing.”

But Harper said that their case is based on solid evidence.

“Obviously we feel he was the driver, otherwise we wouldn’t file three vehicular manslaughter charges,” she said. “We have evidence to indicate that.”

She said that Sheehan has told investigators that the 17-year-old was driving.

If the judge sustains all counts against the youth, he could face up to eight years and four months in custody of the California Youth Authority, Harper said.