Doctor Convicted of 2nd-Degree Murder in 2 Traffic Deaths

A Laguna Beach physician with a history of drunk driving arrests was convicted on two counts of second-degree murder Wednesday for causing a car wreck last year while intoxicated that killed a Mission Viejo couple and injured three others.

Dr. Ronald Allen, 32, who was well-known for treating poor AIDS patients, was found guilty by a Superior Court jury in Santa Ana after two days of deliberations. He faces a maximum term of 30 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 24 in the deaths of Mark and Noreen Minzey.

The verdict brought exclamations of “Oh, God” and sobbing from friends and relatives of the Minzeys, and Jackie Rodriguez, who was in the courtroom. Rodriguez, who was riding with the couple, was injured in the crash, as was her sister, Danielle, and the Minzeys’ daughter, Karie. Allen sat with his head bowed and eyes closed for most of the proceeding, showing no emotion as the verdicts were read.

“He was given a gift to save lives, and look what’s done with it,” Jackie Rodriguez said afterward. “He took two lives. He should just be put away and not be allowed to go back to the streets.”

Outside the courtroom, Rebecca Rodriguez, the mother of Jackie and Danielle, said, “I was praying to God that the public was tired of drunk drivers, and today the jury’s verdict shows me they are.”

Noreen Minzey, 33, and Mark Minzey, 38, were on their way home after attending a daughter’s softball game on July 11, 1993, when their car was struck head-on by Allen’s rented vehicle on Santiago Canyon Road near Orange.

The crash left their daughter, Karie Minzey, now 12, critically injured with broken bones and head injuries. Jackie Rodriguez, now 25, suffered burns on her legs. Danielle Rodriguez, now 12, sustained a broken arm.

Allen was found to have been driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Most intoxicated drivers in fatal collisions are charged with vehicular manslaughter, which carries a maximum prison term of 11 years.

But prosecutors took the unusual step of charging Allen with the most serious charges possible, arguing that his medical background and two prior arrests on suspicion of driving while intoxicated made him fully aware of the deadly risks when he got behind the wheel.

Assistant Deputy Public Defender Michael P. Giannini had asked jurors to convict Allen on lesser charges of manslaughter, arguing that his client was suffering from clinical depression and struggling financially. Just hours before the crash, Allen had learned that his father had died of a heart attack.

But jurors said that despite the tragic aspects of Allen’s situation, he deserved a tough sentence because he must have known what could happen when he decided to drink, take drugs and drive.

Allen’s prior drunk driving arrests and medical training persuaded jurors that he had sufficient understanding that he could harm others when he took the wheel, said jury foreman John Gornik of Buena Park.

“We didn’t figure he was a bad person because of prior incidents, but we knew he knew the consequences,” Gornik said.

Gornik added that jurors tried hard not to become emotionally involved in the case or step into the role of crusaders against drunk driving.

“All we wanted to say was these are the laws and they were broken,” he said.