Man Faces Misdemeanor in Officer’s Death : Court: Day laborer, who was not drunk at time of head-on collision, pleads not guilty to vehicular manslaughter. Funeral for CHP sergeant is today.

Javier Uribe Chaparro, a day laborer charged with the death of a California Highway Patrol officer, was not drunk at the time of last week’s head-on collision and so will face only misdemeanor charges carrying a maximum penalty of 18 months in County Jail, prosecutors said Monday.

Chaparro pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and driving without a valid license. Municipal Judge Frederick R. Horn scheduled a pretrial hearing for May 21.

As Chaparro was being arraigned in Harbor Municipal Court, preparations were underway for the funeral of Sgt. John L. Steel, the 47-year-old CHP officer who was killed on a dark stretch of Irvine Boulevard early Friday morning.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Marc M. Kelly said that Chaparro, 25, of Trabuco Canyon, had a blood alcohol level of 0.03--well below the legal limit of 0.08--when he was given a field sobriety test.

“He wasn’t drunk,” although he had been drinking, Kelly said in an interview outside the courtroom.

Without evidence of gross negligence, the prosecutor said, he had no alternative but to charge Chaparro with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in jail.

Kelly said that it appeared the headlights on the truck Chaparro was driving were on and functioning at 4:20 a.m., when the crash occurred, and that the truck may have drifted over the center line and into the path of Steel’s motorcycle.

“Ethically, we can’t file felony charges,” Kelly said, adding that the decision was “very difficult with an officer involved.” It was, he said, “a very tragic case, very sad.”

Chaparro, who has no previous criminal record, Kelly said, was also charged with driving without a license, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail.

As a practical matter, however, a conviction on both counts would probably result in a concurrent sentence of 12 months, said Deputy Public Defender James S. Edgar, who was appointed to represent Chaparro.

Edgar praised Kelly’s “good judgmentand proper restraint in not overcharging” Chaparro, describing his client as “a frightened young man” who was “repentant.”

Witnesses at the scene of the crash said that Chaparro remained nearby and tried to flag down help for Steel, who had been going to work. Chaparro told police that he had been planning to look for work in Lake Forest that morning.

Edgar said that Chaparro had been in the United States for much of the last three years and was supporting two children in Mexico, and he asked the judge to reduce Chaparro’s $25,000 bail.

However, Kelly opposed reducing bail, saying that Chaparro was a Mexican citizen in the United States without documentation and that he had been driving without insurance.

Services for Steel will be held today at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. CHP officials said they expect about 2,000 officers to attend the morning service and afternoon burial. CHP Commissioner Maury Hannigan and several local police chiefs are also expected, the CHP said.

The CHP office in Santa Ana has established a memorial fund for Steel’s family. Donations can be sent to the John Steel Memorial Fund, 2031 E. Santa Clara Ave., Santa Ana, Calif. 92701, attention CHP Officer Keith Thornhill.

Times staff writer Eric Young contributed to this story.