VAN NUYS : Father Sentenced in Crash That Killed Son

A North Hollywood man charged with second-degree murder for being drunk when his 5-year-old son was killed in a car crash abruptly pleaded no contest Monday to manslaughter and other charges and was sentenced to 12 1/2 years behind bars.

Pedro Panfilo Guzman, 35, who had three prior drunk-driving convictions, agreed Monday to a plea bargain and was promptly ordered to state prison by Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Darlene Schempp.

The sentences on the prior convictions--one in 1985, two in 1989--were primarily probation, according to court records.

The deal Monday closes a case that had been due to go to trial next week. In exchange for pleas of no contest to one count of vehicular manslaughter, another of drunk driving and a third of driving with a suspended license, prosecutors dropped the murder count.

“Society has been served by this plea,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Carole Chizever said after the court hearing, adding: “People who drink and drive are more dangerous to society than many other types of criminals.”

“Maybe,” she said moments later, “this case can be a lesson to people . . . as to what can happen.”

If convicted of second-degree murder, Guzman could have drawn a maximum sentence of life in prison. The murder count, uncommon in drunk-driving cases, was based on the theory that Guzman was keenly aware of the risks of driving drunk because he had attended court-ordered alcohol-education class.

Nevertheless, Chizever conceded Monday that the murder charge would have been risky to take to a jury, in large part because the victim was Guzman’s son, William, and because Guzman has expressed deep remorse over the boy’s death.

Immediately after the May 7, 1994, crash at Arminta Street and Riverton Avenue in Sun Valley, Guzman lifted his son from the rear seat of his car and cried: “I’ve killed my son! I’ve killed my son!”

Shackled at the ankles and surrounded by sheriff’s deputies, Guzman attended the boy’s funeral. He was led to an empty pew in the back row--isolated from the rest of his grieving family, including his wife, Maria.

The son was killed while accompanying the father on a Saturday evening beer run, according to court records.

At a hearing last year, a detective testified that Guzman said after the accident that his wife “had warned him, ‘Hey, you have been drinking. You are drunk. Don’t take Willie. Don’t take the baby. You’ll end up killing him. And [Guzman] replied, ‘Yeah, like I’m gonna go out and kill my son.’ ”

However, a few months ago, Maria Guzman told a probation officer that her husband had “looked OK” that evening and downed “only about two beers,” according to court records. She also told the probation officer: “This is a terrible thing that has happened and my husband has suffered greatly.”

The boy, court records indicate, was not wearing a seat belt. The records also show that the son had vigorously protested the father’s attempts to buckle the belt.

William died of massive head trauma when the car crashed into a pickup truck, according to a coroner’s report.

According to court records, Pedro Guzman’s blood-alcohol level--measured about two hours after the 6:35 p.m. crash--was .13%, well over the legal limit of .08%.

The driver of the pickup, Gilbert Ramirez, now 25, was also driving drunk. His blood-alcohol level measured .22%, according to prosecutors.

Ramirez pleaded no contest last year to drunk driving and was sentenced to 193 days in jail. He also had a previous drunk-driving conviction, in 1989.

A plea of no contest technically means the accused does not admit guilt. Under California law, it has the same standing as a guilty plea, however, except that it can not be used against a defendant in any subsequent civil lawsuit, as a guilty plea can.