Suspect in Halloween hit-and-run that killed 3 girls is charged

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A friend leaves flowers at the service for 13-year-old Andrea Gonzalez at Fairhaven Memorial Park and Mortuary on Saturday in Santa Ana. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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The caskets of twins Lexi and Lexandra Perez, two of three 13-year-old trick or treaters killed by a hit-and-run driver on Halloween night, are brought into Our Lady of Guadalupe Roman Catholic Church in Santa Ana for their funeral service Saturday. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

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The caskets of twins Lexi and Lexandra Perez are brought into Our Lady of Guadalupe Roman Catholic Church in Santa Ana. The twins and their friend, Andrea Gonzalez, all 13, were killed in a hit-and-run on Halloween night. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

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Brenda Gonzalez, 24, center, and other family members attend the funeral of 13-year-old Andrea Gonzalez at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange on Saturday. Gonzalez and two other girls were stuck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while trick-or-treating on Halloween night. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Josafat Gonzalez, 21, and Brenda Gonzalez, 24, return to their seats after speaking at the funeral of their 13-year-old sister Andrea at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange. Gonzalez and two other girls were stuck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while trick-or-treating on Halloween night. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Santa Ana police officers listen to details in the arrest of Jaquinn Bell, pictured above them, in the Halloween night hit-and-run deaths of three teenage girls. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A teacher puts out cards made by students at Fairview Elementary School at a memorial at the site where three teenage girls -- two of them twins -- were killed Halloween night in a hit-and-run accident. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Amilio Cortez holds on to his son Brandon, 5, a kindergarten student at Fairview Elementary School, as they walk past the memorial for the three teenage girls who were killed Halloween night by a hit-and-run motorist. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Two crossing guards were on duty at Fairhaven Street near the site where three 13-year-old girls were killed Halloween night while trick-or-treating. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Extra police were on patrol at Fairhaven Elementary School in Santa Ana after three teenage girls were killed while trick-or-treating Halloween night. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Clarissa Cisneros, 17, who witnessed the accident, stands next to the memorial to the three 13-year-olds killed by a hit-and-run driver near Fairhaven Elementary School on Friday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Brenda Gonzalez, 24, left, sobs as her 21-year-old brother holds a photo of their siblings. Hit-and-run victim Andrea Gonzalez, 13, is seen at right. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Leslie Corrales, 10, left, and her cousin bring balloons to a makeshift memorial where three 13-year-old girls, two of whom were twins, were killed by a hit-and-run driver Friday evening while they were trick-or-treating in Santa Ana. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Jessica Beltran, left, and Isabel Rodriguez hug each other at the memorial for the three young trick-or-treaters killed by a hit-and-run driver in Santa Ana on Friday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Sergio Alfaro, 13, lays flowers at the memorial to the three victims, who were struck by a driver “going at a high rate of speed” on westbound Fairhaven Avenue about 6:45 p.m. Friday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Billy and Rose Weatherley offer silent prayers at the memorial for the three 13-year-old girls who were killed by a hit-and-run driver Friday evening. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Santi Morales, boyfriend of Andrea Gonzalez, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver, brings flowers to a memorial for Gonzalez and two twin 13-year-old girls. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Neighbors and friends bring flowers and candles to a makeshift memorial where three 13-year-old girls, two of whom were twins, were killed by a hit-and-run driver Friday evening. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A flower left at the crosswalk where three 13-year-old girls, two of whom were twins, were killed by a hit-and-run driver Friday evening while they were trick-or-treating in Santa Ana. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Kelli Keller, a former principal at Fairhaven Elementary School in Santa Ana who knew the victims from while they were in elementary school, stops to pay her respects near a makeshift memorial. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A Santa Ana police officer stops by to pay her respects at the memorial. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Sandra Anderson, 13, left, and Briana Diaz, 12, friends of Andrea Gonzalez, grieve at the makeshift memorial. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Family members of Andrea Gonzalez walk into their apartment that is only half a block away from where she and two other 13-year-old girls were killed by a hit-and-run driver Friday evening. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Jeff Evans and his daughter, Brittany Evans, 8, heard tire screeches and a scream Friday night where three teenagers were killed in a hit-and-run. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Friends of the girls killed in Santa Ana on Friday weep at the scene of the hit-and-run. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A family member of one of the girls killed at the scene of Friday’s hit-and-run. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Santa Ana police investigate a fatal hit-and-run that left three teenage girls dead Friday night. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Friends comfort each other after three teenage trick-or-treaters were killed in Santa Ana on Friday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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People at the scene comfort each other Friday night. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Onlookers embrace at the scene of Friday’s fatal hit-and-run in Santa Ana. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

By Joseph Serna

Nov. 4, 2014 2:01 PM PT

The suspected driver in a hit-and-run crash in Santa Ana that killed three girls on Halloween night was charged Tuesday with three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, prosecutors announced.

Jaquinn Bell, 31, of Orange, was also charged with misdemeanor driving on a suspended license and sentencing enhancements of inflicting great bodily injury and fleeing the scene of a crime after committing manslaughter.

If convicted, Bell faces as long as 17 years in prison and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Police said that Bell was driving with his two teen children when he struck twin sisters Lexia and Lexandra Perez and their friend Andrea Gonzales. The girls, who were crossing the road at Old Grand Street and Fairhaven Avenue at about 6:45 p.m., died at the scene.

Investigators said they later found the suspected car, a Honda CR-V, abandoned in the parking lot of a nearby Big Lots store.

Bell was arrested Sunday outside a Motel 6 in Stanton.

Santa Ana police said they initially detained Bell’s mother and half-sister as well as his two children in connection with the incident but subsequently released everyone but Bell.

Bell’s criminal record dates to at least 2009, and court records show his probation has been revoked seven times since then.

His arraignment was postponed Tuesday to Dec. 16.

Times staff writer Emily Foxhall contributed to this report.

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.