Mannes Gets 6-Month Jail Sentence

A Camarillo woman who killed three teens while driving drunk 12 years ago was sentenced Monday to six months in jail and three years’ probation on new alcohol-related charges.

Diane Mannes, 46, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of drunk driving and public intoxication. Because her prior felony vehicular manslaughter and drunk-driving charges are more than a decade old, prosecutors had to file the new offenses as misdemeanors.

That loophole has enraged advocates for tougher drunk-driving laws. Linda Oxenreider, whose teenage son, Joshua, was among those killed in the 1989 accident, said she is “terrified” at the thought of Mannes soon returning to the highways.

“If anyone deserves to be in jail for a long time, it’s Diane Mannes,” said Oxenreider, who is state chairwoman of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “I just know she is going to kill somebody again.”

Also killed in the accident on the Conejo Grade were Jacob Boyd, 14, and Darin Mullins, 20. Mannes’ blood alcohol level was .20%, twice the legal limit at that time.

Mannes served two years after a jury convicted her on a drunk-driving charge and another two years when she violated probation. The jury deadlocked on second-degree murder and she later pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter.

Mannes was not required to appear in court Monday but was ordered to report to the Ventura County Jail on March 19. She initially pleaded not guilty to the new charges but changed her mind a week after her trial was scheduled to begin.

Defense attorney Jay Leiderman declined to comment on why his client changed her plea. But in a short written statement released Monday, he said his client “regrets any pain she has caused.”

The statement also said that Mannes “looks forward to getting treatment for her alcohol problem, putting this chapter behind her and moving on with her life.”

Mannes was ordered to participate in alcohol treatment and will be subject to alcohol testing.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Barbara Kim asked the judge to impose a five-year probation period, saying that the county should be able to supervise her actions for as long as possible.

“She killed three young men while drinking and driving,” Kim told the judge. “Now she is still doing the same thing.”

Kim also asked for additional jail time on the charge of public intoxication. But Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell said the more serious charge was driving while under the influence.

“The court in not particularly concerned about Mrs. Mannes’ drinking,” Campbell said. “It is concerned about her drinking when she drives.”

And though Campbell said she could be considered for a work-release program, he recommended that she serve her six-month sentence behind bars.

After the hearing, Kim said she did not believe the sentence was harsh enough. Mannes could have faced a year in jail on the two alcohol-related charges.

Mannes’ new round of problems started in August, when she was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after a sheriff’s deputy noticed her vehicle weaving in Camarillo. Police reports show that she had a .28% blood-alcohol level.

Two months later, Mannes was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication after she slid off a bar stool and collapsed on the floor. She was taken to Ventura County Medical Center, where she was admitted for intoxication and cited for public drunkenness.