They were pleased the judge kept all six counts. When surveillance video showing the crash was played for the court Wednesday, the family stepped out.
Navarro does not have a prior DUI conviction and had not been given a Watson advisement, a warning that a convicted drunk driver could be charged with murder if they drive drunk and kill someone.Ĭecilia Ramos, Joseph Awaida’s aunt, said it was difficult for the family to hear the testimony. Navarro was being held on $3 million bail and was ordered to return to enter a plea to the charges, Feb. Navarro sat down on the curb until police arrived. I don’t know, I’m sorry,” Navarro replied, according to the teen’s testimony.
Navarro had told police he drank four to five shots prior to driving toward the park and that he was driving, he was drunk and he hit someone.Īfter the crash, one of the teens ran up to Navarro as he paced back and forth, asking what he was thinking. He and a friend went to a nearby golf course to drink before they headed down to Los Cerritos Park, where they planned to meet others and continue drinking and partying, he told police.Īn unopened bottle of apple-flavored vodka and a bottle of beer were found inside Navarro’s SUV, Garcia said. Navarro had purchased a bottle of Jack Daniels on credit from Green Diamond Liquor in North Long Beach after work the night of the crash. A girl said she was pulled out of the way by a friend.
Included was Omar Awaida’s green dinosaur costume, a candy pail and several pieces of candy, Officer Anthony Hem said Wednesday.Ī pair of teenagers, whose full identities were not provided in court, perhaps because of their age, said Navarro’s SUV nearly hit them as they stood near the corner of Country Club Drive and Los Cerritos Park Place. Navarro, who was 20 at the time of the crash, told police he had planned to meet friends at the park and continue drinking that night.ĭetective Sirilo Garcia, a Long Beach police collision investigator, estimated Navarro was traveling about 71 miles-per-hour at the time of the crash, which left debris “spread out like a trail of belongings” along the grass, he said. How much more dangerous can it be than that?” Lowenthal disagreed, saying it was established Navarro was aware of the dangers and drove in a residential area “on Halloween night with throngs of kids. Navarro’s attorney, Bryan Schroeder, did not dispute the gross vehicular manslaughter charges, but he did not think prosecutors adequately demonstrated that Navarro knew before getting behind the wheel that his actions could kill someone. “The imagery of the SUV striking the family will be forever seared into my mind.”
“It’s truly a crime against all the community,” he said after announcing his ruling. Lowenthal called the case unspeakably tragic. Long Beach Superior Court Judge Daniel Lowenthal ruled, after two days of testimony, that prosecutors had provided enough evidence during a preliminary hearing to ask a jury to decide if Navarro showed a conscious disregard for human life when he chose to drive after drinking that night.
Those admissions were part of a judge’s ruling to order Navarro to stand trial on three counts each of murder and gross vehicular manslaughter for allegedly driving drunk and losing control of his SUV, causing the crash that killed 30-year-old Joseph Awaida, 32-year-old Raihan Dakhil and their son, 3-year-old Omar Awaida on Oct. Judge: Alleged drunken driver accused of killing California family to stand trial for murder and other charges – East Bay Times Close Menu