Driver Pleads Guilty in Deaths of 2 Youths
A Palmdale man pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of two high school students whose car he broadsided in Mission Hills while fleeing from police in his pickup truck.
Ray Vargas Servin, 22, agreed to a prison term of 20 years to life, Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels said. Servin will be sentenced Oct. 17 in Van Nuys Superior Court. If he had been convicted in a jury trial that was scheduled to begin Wednesday, he could have received a sentence of 36 years to life.
Servin, who on Tuesday listened in court to a 20-minute tape-recorded confession he made to police after the crash, entered the plea after consulting with his attorney, William M. Thornbury.
As part of the plea bargain, prosecutors dropped a charge of causing death while evading police, which could have brought him an additional eight-month sentence.
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