A man accused of street racing in Redwood City that caused the death of a San Carlos couple nearly two years ago will go to trial in juvenile court, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
Cesar Morales was 17 at the time of the crash but is now an adult. A judge decided in June that he would be tried as a juvenile, weighing a variety of factors like seriousness of the crime, prior record and amenability to treatment, Wagstaffe said.
The trial, known as a dispositional hearing in juvenile cases, will begin Oct. 2.
Morales, who declined to take a plea deal from the DA’s Office, Wagstaffe said, will face a maximum of six years if convicted — far less than 23-year old co-defendant Kyle Harrison, who was allegedly racing him at the time of the crash and is also charged with second-degree murder.
Harrison, an adult, could face 15 years to life in prison if convicted, a sentencing disparity Wagstaffe acknowledged would play a role in the DA’s next steps.
“What we do when we sit down to decide how we should resolve his case — there’s a certain factor of fairness that will be considered,” he said. “We will consider that. We’ll do whatever we feel is just.”
Morales, alongside Harrison, who did not know each other, are accused of going more than 80 mph while racing on El Camino Real in Redwood City in November 2022, T-boning a car and killing Greg Ammen, 44, and Grace Spiridon, 42.
Their 7-year-old twin daughters survived the crash.
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CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
LittleFoot said:
This is great news.
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(1) comment
Shameful that our Judicial system has let this drag out and the two male Perps are getting every benefit of the doubt. The Juvenile is especially repulsive. Old enough to make decisions to drag race on heavily traveled ECR, but now wallowing in fake sorrow for the Murder of two parents who's children will never see them.
Too bad it's not a Death Penalty State.
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