Second man in fatal Nevada crash becomes focus for prosecutors

Authorities in Clark County, Nev., said they were turning their focus toward a second man involved in a fatal crash that killed five members of a Los Angeles-area family after missteps during the investigation forced prosecutors to drop all charges against their original suspect.

“This is unique,” said Brian Rutledge, the Clark County prosecutor who on Wednesday dropped the case against Jean Soriano, 18, who had been charged with multiple counts of felony drunk driving resulting in death.

On Monday, prosecutors learned that Soriano was not driving a 1999 Dodge SUV that rear-ended a van on Interstate 15 about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas and killed five people.

The Orange County native initially told police that he had “too many” beers and was driving during the March 30 wreck. Soriano’s lawyer, Frank Cofer of Cofer, Geller & Durham, said his client was “coerced” and “intimidated” to take the blame for the driver, Alfred Gomez, 23.

Gomez downplayed the seriousness of the crash and told Soriano that he had a family to take care of so he couldn’t go to jail, Cofer said.

Despite the dropped charges, Soriano still faces prosecution in California for what authorities say was his escape from a juvenile detention facility in Santa Ana in February.

The investigation now turns to Gomez, who was not tested for drugs or alcohol and was released from a hospital the day of the crash.

“There’s a difference between showing that it was not Mr. Soriano and putting a complete case against Mr. Gomez to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt,” Rutledge said.

He declined to say whether a warrant would be issued for Gomez’s arrest, and the Nevada Highway Patrol referred all comments to Clark County prosecutors. Rutledge said there is evidence that Gomez was drinking and driving, but declined to elaborate. Soriano’s arrest report notes that beer bottles were found inside the vehicle.

Soriano’s attorney presented Rutledge with DNA evidence that showed someone other than Soriano was handling the steering wheel and gearshift. A shoe print on the driver’s door from where it was kicked out after the crash also did not match Soriano’s shoe. Blood and injuries to Soriano’s face match evidence found on the passenger side of the vehicle, Cofer said.

Because Soriano and Gomez told troopers that Soriano was driving, Rutledge said, “They assumed that Soriano was telling the truth.”

The location of the crash, the officers’ response time of nearly two hours and the fact that all the interviews took place hours later at hospitals were all out of the ordinary.

“Everything about this case was unusual, nothing was typical,” Rutledge said.

Cofer called the investigation incomplete.

“I think that they got what was a good enough confession from one of the passengers, then they basically didn’t do any work after that,” he said. “You can’t rely on the confession from an intimidated, intoxicated 18-year-old who’s just been through a traumatic event.”

There were seven people in the van that was hit, and only two survived. The five killed were: Genaro Fernandez, 41, of Norwalk; Raudel Fernandez-Avila, 49, and Belen Fernandez, 53, of Lynwood; and Leonardo Fernandez-Avila, 45, and Angela Sandoval, 13, of Los Angeles.

joseph.serna@latimes.com