Police release mug shot of man accused in deadly DUI crash
An Oct. 3 bail hearing was set Wednesday for a man accused of killing two people while driving drunk in Palm Springs over Labor Day weekend.
Jonathan Garcia-Avila, 21, is charged with two counts of murder and one count of DUI gross vehicular manslaughter, with sentence enhancing allegations of causing great bodily injury to multiple victims, according to court documents.
Garcia-Avila crashed a 2005 Cadillac CTS into a light pole around 3:12 a.m. on Sunday, August 31, on north Gene Autry Trail and Tachevah Drive. The impact of the crash split the car in two.
Police said he was speeding and had been drinking at the time of the crash.
Osvaldo Ramirez, 21, of Cathedral City and 18-year-old Tierra Reagins of Palm Springs were both killed in the crash; a third passenger suffered minor injuries.
Garcia-Avila was arrested Sept. 3 at Desert Regional Medical Center after being treated for injuries he sustained in the crash. At that time he was booked on suspicion of DUI causing injury.
He posted $75,000 bond the next day, the same day charges were filed.
On Sept. 5, a police officer requested that his bail be set at $1 million because of the murder charges, and Garcia was arrested Sept. 9. He was booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on $1 million bail and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Sept. 10, according to court and jail records.
His bail hearing was rescheduled to Oct. 3.
Garcia-Avila could be charged with second degree murder under the so-called Watson murder rule, based on California Supreme Court case People v. Watson: when a drunk driver causes a fatal car crash because they acted with a disregard for human life.
According to a declaration filed in support of an arrest warrant, a police officer smelled a “strong odor” of an alcoholic beverage on Garcia, whose speech was slurred. The surviving passenger, who had been sitting in the front with Garcia, told police that Garcia had at least three mixed drinks and three beers. He also took a Xanax pill the night of the crash.
She believed Garcia-Avila was not OK to drive, the declaration stated.
Garcia-Avila told police he drank “about four beers” earlier on the night of the crash and “did not believe he was okay to drive but drove (the surviving passenger) and the two decedents after (the surviving passenger) insisted he drive her home.”
He couldn’t remember how the crash occurred, but “believed it was due to his alcohol consumption. [He] told [the officer] he was fully aware of the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol,” but drove anyway, according to the declaration.
