Judge Says Driver Can’t Reverse His Guilty Plea : Justice: Lawyer said his client was confused when he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in death of a passenger.

A Superior Court judge on Thursday ruled that a Sunshine Summit man cannot renege his guilty plea to charges of misdemeanor manslaughter and driving a stolen vehicle.

Paul John Talerico Jr., 23, was charged after he offered a ride to Steven Paul (Johnny) Lawrence the night of June 7, then crashed the car he was driving--a stolen 1988 BMW--into a tree. Lawrence died in the crash.

The death sparked an uproar in the small, rural community below the eastern slopes of Palomar Mountain in North County. The victim was a popular resident who worked at the local general store.

Moreover, according to letters to the judge, Talerico was characterized by residents as a menace to the community because of his driving habits. At the time of the crash, he was driving with a suspended driver’s license, according to court records.

After being ordered to stand trial in Vista Superior Court, Talerico agreed in September to plead guilty and spend a maximum of one year in jail, versus the maximum four-year prison sentence he faced if convicted.

Afterward, however, Talerico, a high school dropout, said he didn’t understand the repercussions of his guilty plea because they were not clearly stated by his defense attorney and the judge, and said he wanted to stand trial after all.

His new defense attorney, Bill Rafael, said Thursday that Talerico lacked “all sophistication” to understand what he was agreeing to when he pleaded guilty.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Walt Donovan argued that Talerico shouldn’t be allowed to change his plea, adding that this was only the second time in six years that Donovan could remember such a request. To allow people to change pleas from innocent to guilty and back to innocent “would unravel the entire system,” he said.

Donovan noted that Talerico had changed his plea from innocent to guilty four years ago to a different misdemeanor charge of brandishing a deadly weapon, so he should have known what he was doing this time as well.

Besides, he said, Talerico had six days to contemplate the change-of-plea offer before accepting it, and there was no new evidence in the meantime to help his defense.

“He was not confused,” Donovan said. “He was anxious--about what size his jail cell will be, what other human being will be sharing it with him, and whether someone spat in his food as it’s brought to him.”

Superior Court Judge Ruston Maino said he is convinced that Talerico fully understood the implications of his guilty plea, partly because of the extensive change-of-plea form he signed and because Superior Court Judge Allan Preckel asked him verbally, several times, if he understood.

“How many times do you have to say ‘I do’ before you’re married?” Maino asked Talerico. “You said ‘I do’ three times (to pleading guilty), and I think you did.”