Local briefs

One person was killed Saturday in a solo-vehicle accident that occurred around 12:10 p.m. on Pescadero Creek Road near Jones Gulch in San Mateo County, according to the California Highway Patrol.

CHP officers discovered that the male occupant of a 1999 Porsche Carrera was on the north embankment and had collided with a large tree.

The tire marks indicate that the vehicle’s right side tires had drifted off the road onto a dirt embankment and into contact with the tree.

The male driver was died at the scene, according to the CHP. It appears as though the driver was using the seat belt.

The collision is under investigation, anyone who was a witness to it is asked to call (650) 369-6261.

Teens arrested for graffiti

Police arrested two teens suspected of graffiti vandalism in several areas of South San Francisco early Saturday morning, according to South San Francisco police.

Nicolas Serrano, 19, of South San Francisco, and Adam Baggetta, 19, of San Bruno, were approached by police after being seen "acting suspiciously” near some electrical boxes in the 400/500 block of El Camino Real around 1 a.m. Saturday, police reported.

Officers discovered the boxes had just been tagged with graffiti and stopped the pair, finding felt pens and several cans of spray paint in their vehicle, according to police.

Police reported the two had vandalized several electrical boxes and dumpsters in the area, and they were booked into the Redwood City jail on suspicion of conspiring to commit felony graffiti vandalism in excess of $400 and possession of graffiti felt markers.

Man gets three years for assault with a deadly weapon

A man accused of purposely driving his former girlfriend of three years off Interstate 280 in April was sentenced Friday in San Mateo County Superior Court to serve three years in state prison, the San Mateo County district attorney’s office reported.

On April 21, Robin Aponte, 47, a former body remover for the San Mateo County coroner’s office, reportedly crashed his car, with the victim in it, off Interstate 280 after the two had gone to lunch in San Francisco.

Aponte had reportedly been drinking heavily at lunch and told the victim prior to the crash "If I can’t love you, no one can,” according to the district attorney’s office.

Aponte pleaded no contest in November to assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, according to the district attorney’s office.

Aponte and the woman had dated for three years before breaking up, the district attorney’s office reported. The woman sustained a broken back in the crash.

Lantos aide inducted into women’s hall of fame

An 89-year-old registered nurse and longtime aide to U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, was among the 10 women inducted Thursday night into the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame, a spokeswoman with Lantos’ office reported.

Betty Carlson has worked for Lantos for 23 years and currently serves as the office manager in his San Mateo office and as a caseworker specializing in issues affecting senior citizens and veterans, Lantos’ spokeswoman Lynne Weil said.

Carlson also volunteers at Mills-Peninsula Hospital and as a registered nurse and has dedicated much of her life to caring for residents of the Peninsula, according to Weil.

"Betty has shown extraordinary, selfless dedication to the community, and she is a bright star among the shining lights that make the Peninsula such a special place to live,” Lantos said. "Nobody is more deserving of this honor.”

New judge to hear Morrow dismissal argument

A Santa Clara County judge has been appointed to hear a defense motion to dismiss the case against accused murderer Joseph Eli Morrow in April, allowing the long-delayed case to proceed with a target to begin a jury trial within weeks, according to the San Mateo County district attorney’s office.

The district attorney’s office reported on Friday that retired Santa Clara County Judge Thomas Hastings will hear the motion on April 2 before the case returns to San Mateo County Superior Court.

Morrow, 58, is accused of killing his 37-year-old wife, Donna, on Dec. 19, 1991, and burying her body on their 36-acre property above Los Gatos.

At the time of Donna Morrow’s disappearance, she and her husband lived with their four children in a house on College Avenue in Menlo Park. Her body was found in September 2003 and Morrow was indicted by a criminal grand jury two months later.

The trial in the 15-year-old murder case was brought to a halt last April when defense attorneys argued that San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Craig Parsons could show bias in ruling on a defense motion to have the case against Morrow thrown out.

Their argument was based on potential exculpatory evidence that former prosecutor John Grandsaert, who is now also a San Mateo County Superior Court judge, did not submit to the grand jury in 2003.

Although a state appeals court in January refused to disqualify Parsons from the trial, and the California Supreme Court subsequently rejected a defense request to review the Court of Appeal denial, defense attorneys had planned to continue the appeal process.

Early last week, defense attorney Paul Demeester and Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe agreed to accept Parsons’ proposal to have another judge hear the defense motion on April 2, with the proviso that Parsons will not disqualify himself from the jury trial.

Parsons had earlier indicated that he hoped to start the trial "some time in April,” noting the large number of witnesses the prosecution intends to call and the difficulty of assembling a jury during the summer months, especially in a case that has been widely publicized in San Mateo County.

Morrow, who remains in custody on no-bail status, has maintained his innocence since the day his wife was reported missing. Prosecutors allege Morrow killed her for financial gain, which if found by a jury to be true, could bring a potential life sentence without the possibility of parole.