Man [Illegal Alien] pleads guilty in hit-and-run death of Santa Rosa 4-year-old

KTVU ^ | KTVU And Wires

[kevcol]

SANTA ROSA, Calif. —

A Santa Rosa man pleaded guilty Thursday morning in Sonoma County Superior Court to hit-and-run and other charges stemming from the death of a 4-year-old boy he struck and killed in a crosswalk in August.

Marcos Lopez-Garcia, 23, pleaded guilty to felony hit-and-run causing injury or death, and to misdemeanor charges of gross vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence and driving without a license, defense attorney Walter Rubenstein said.

Garcia faces five and a half years in prison when he is sentenced on June 29, Rubenstein said.

"He wanted to resolve the case because he feels bad for the family. He has cousins who are that age," Rubenstein said.

The 4-year-old, Christopher "Buddy" Rowe, was struck by Garcia's car in a marked crosswalk at the intersection of West Ninth Street and Rockwell Place near Jacob's Park in west Santa Rosa around 6 p.m. on Aug. 18, according to Santa Rosa police.

He was walking with his mother, Michelle Rowe, 45, his twin sister and a 6-year-old sister.

He died the next morning at Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland.

Santa Rosa police said Garcia was driving west on West Ninth Street and fled the scene of the collision afterward.

When officers broadcast a description of Garcia's car on the police radio frequency, Santa Rosa resident Leroy Flach heard it and drove to nearby Finley Park where he thought the driver might have fled after the collision.

Flach told police he saw the driver removing a decal from the rear of the car, and that the man was then picked up by a woman driving a silver Volvo, Sgt. Rich Celli said.

Flach provided the Volvo's license plate number to police, who found the car in the 500 block of Sonoma Avenue around 7:50 p.m.

Garcia gave police information that confirmed his involvement in the hit-and-run, and he was arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail.

Rubenstein said the misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence reflects Lopez-Garcia's contention that the crosswalk death was an accident.

[kevcol]

And from another source:

"An illegal immigrant living in Santa Rosa is facing more than five years in prison after admitting that he ran over and killed a four year-old boy last August. 24 year-old Marcos Garcia pleaded guilty to three counts stemming from the death of Christopher "Buddy" Rowe near Jacob's Park in west Santa Rosa. Because Garcia is in the country illegally he'll serve his prison time and then be deported. Garcia was convicted two years ago of driving without a license and was given probation. He was stopped and cited again for the same offense just five days before he killed Christpopher Rowe." (LINK)

Another tragedy that could have been avoided if LE was permitted to actually enforce the law instead of this catch-and-release russian roulette.

[forgotten man]

A Mexican with two last names is an illegal aliens 99% of the time. If the cops did thier duty and impounded their cars we would have a lot less of these tragedies.

[Borax Queen]

Five and a half years??????????????????

[twister881]

The wetback has got it made now: 3 hots and a cot for the next 5.5 years. He’ll live better than he ever has...at taxpayer expense.

[The KG9 Kid]

1. Five and a half year sentence for vehicular manslaughter after fleeing the scene.
2. He'll really serve 18 months after CA budget cuts releases him.
3. Two weeks after deportation, he'll be back in Santa Rosa.
4. He'll kill someone else again.
5. You'll be a racist for bringing it up.

[kevcol]

Yah, in this case the parent can thank their governor Jerry Brown:

"The decision came as immigrant rights advocates were pushing legislation to limit car seizures, saying they unfairly penalize a group of people who are denied licenses. In October, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill co-authored by Assemblyman Michael Allen, D-Santa Rosa, that would allow police to release cars to a representative of the owner rather than impounding them for 30 days." (LINK)


RIP Christopher "Buddy" Rowe

[Borax Queen]

That’s so disgusting, I can’t stand it.