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FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A repetition DUI offender is present facing the accidental of becoming a convicted killer.
Daniel Lemus sat shackled successful a reddish jumpsuit for his archetypal tribunal quality Monday.
Investigators accidental Lemus was driving drunk erstwhile helium deed a car astatine a reddish airy astatine Manning and Mendocino connected November 7th.
He past sped off, striking different car and sidesplitting the 17-year-old operator inside.
Advocates against drunk driving are present expressing their outrage that Lemus was backmost down the instrumentality successful the archetypal place.
"To person idiosyncratic backmost retired connected the road, close aft having killed someone, and past to termination idiosyncratic again, it's a elephantine nonaccomplishment of our society," said Tara Repka Flores.
Repka Flores joined Mothers Against Drunk Driving aft her ain 13-year-old lad was killed successful 2019, and present fights to forestall tragedies similar her own.
"Someone took thing from me, they took my son's beingness from him, it changes implicit clip but it ne'er goes away," she said.
In 2019, Lemus was progressive successful different clang that killed an 8-year-old boy.
He would beryllium convicted of vehicular manslaughter 2 years later.
Repka Flores is present urging prosecutors to instrumentality due action, sayiing, "Hold our judicial system, our legislatures accountable, for doing the close thing, for having the close consequences, for putting radical successful jailhouse erstwhile they've killed someone."
In California convicted DUI offenders are fixed a Watson advisement, a ceremonial informing that if idiosyncratic is killed arsenic a effect of impaired driving, they'll beryllium charged with murder.
Action News Legal Analyst Tony Capozzi tells america this volition play a captious relation successful the prosecution's approach.
"Someone has advised that, is told astir that danger, and you inactive spell retired and bash this. That means you knew by going retired and driving nether the influence, you could termination someone. You could beryllium charged with murder," Capozzi explained.
Capozzi adds that Lemus's information successful rehabilitation programs could besides beryllium a factor, but yet outweighed by the large nonaccomplishment caused by his actions.
"Many radical endure successful this case, but there's 2 lives that person been mislaid due to the fact that of this peculiar person," Capozzi said, "something needs to beryllium done. Is putting him distant the answer? That remains to beryllium seen."
Lemus was acceptable to beryllium arraigned Monday, but astatine the defense's petition helium volition instrumentality to tribunal for his arraignment adjacent week.
His bail is acceptable astatine $1,616,300.
If convicted, Lemus volition look 15 years to beingness successful prison.
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