Man pleads guilty in death of cousin during possible ‘street takeover’ in Costa Mesa

A man accused of killing his cousin in a collision during an alleged street takeover in Costa Mesa in October pleaded guilty Thursday to reckless driving and vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced to one year in jail, court records indicate.

Mynor Agusto Esquivelvalle, 24, of Santa Ana had been held in police custody since his Oct. 22 arrest and the death of Sergio Marroquin Jr., 23, of Los Angeles during a pre-dawn rollover collision at the intersection of Sunflower and Hyland avenues.

Police believe Esquivelvalle may have been participating in a street takeover with several other motorists, racing and performing vehicle stunts at around 1:30 a.m. in a parking lot at Anaheim Plaza on Euclid Street, when one car struck an 18-year-old onlooker from Newport Beach.

A vehicle doing “doughnuts” at an intersection in Costa Mesa on October 22, 2020, overturned, killing one passenger and injuring another. On Thursday, the driver pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving in the death of his cousin.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Ultimately, five people were arrested on suspicion of participating in the event and its aftermath.

When officers arrived on scene, several vehicles fled in the direction of Costa Mesa, causing Anaheim police to tip off the Costa Mesa Police Department. Shortly before 2:30 a.m., CMPD received a call from witnesses indicating a pickup had overturned in the intersection.

One passenger inside the truck, later identified as Marroquin, was found unconscious and died on scene, despite first responders’ attempts to perform CPR. A second passenger was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for injuries, police reported.

Appearing in a Santa Ana courtroom Thursday, Esquivelvalle pleaded guilty to one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, a felony count of reckless driving causing injury to another and admitted a felony enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury.

He was sentenced to serve one year in jail with three years’ probation and to pay restitution, according to court records. As of Thursday’s hearing, Esquivelvalle had already spent 288 days in custody.

Online records maintained by the Sheriff’s Department on Friday indicated that, having received credit for time served, Esquivelvalle was released following his sentencing.

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