OXNARD : Man Gets Jail Term in Traffic Fatality

An Oxnard man was sentenced to 210 days in County Jail and five years probation on Monday after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the death of an 85-year-old Alzheimer’s patient.

Jose Gutierrez Adame, 42, was ordered to report to jail on July 28 by Ventura County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch after admitting he was intoxicated when his car struck pedestrian Arthur Raynor March 21.

Raynor was crossing Channel Islands Boulevard against a red light at Albany Drive in Oxnard when he was struck by Adame, according to Adame’s pre-sentencing report.

Raynor April 1 died as a result of his injuries.

Defense attorney Fred Rogers argued that Adame should receive only 180 days in jail, citing Adame’s lack of a criminal record. Deputy Dist. Atty. Roger A. Inman asked the judge to sentence Adame to 240 to 270 days in County Jail.

“Had (Adame) been sober, clearly this accident would have never occurred,” Inman said.

Adame, who told probation officers that he was an alcoholic and had completed a 30-day alcohol treatment prior to the accident, said in the pre-sentencing report that March 21 was the first day he had consumed alcohol since leaving the facility.

The report said that following the accident, Adame’s blood-alcohol level was .19%, double that at which a motorist is considered legally drunk.