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Horse fell out of trailer, causing motor vehicle accident
Arroyo Grande, CA (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Jan 31, 2003
County: San Luis Obispo
Local Map: available
Disposition: Dismissed

Person of Interest: Jose Maria Iniguez

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Case ID: 2166

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: horse

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Judge Michael Duffy declared a mistrial Friday in the case of Jose Iniguez, who faced hit-and-run and manslaughter charges after three people died when their car hit his horse a year and a half ago near the Cuesta Grade.

The jurors, seven women and five men, deliberated for four days after hearing testimony for more than two weeks. The group voted 10-2 to acquit Iniguez on a hit-and-run charge, but voted 7-5 for conviction on three charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross criminal negligence and one animal cruelty charge.

Iniguez, 35, of Arroyo Grande pleaded not guilty to all five charges, which could have carried a total of up to 15 years and eight months in state prison.

The Aug. 23, 2002, accident on Highway 101 just north of the Grade killed Honolulu resident Virginia Hunt Richardson, 61, her brother, Peter Hunt, 66, and their 41-year-old nephew, Paul Tucker, both of Atascadero.

Their car hit Iniguez's horse after the animal slipped out of a trailer Iniguez was using to carry it, then stood up in the middle of the road. The wreck happened after dark.

The prosecution alleged that Iniguez was negligent because he jammed two horses into an unsafe trailer and because he failed to contact authorities immediately after the accident. Investigators say Iniguez knew his horse had been hit by a car after it fell out of the trailer.

Iniguez's attorney, Chris Casciola, said his client knew the horse fell out of the trailer and was killed, but he was unaware of the collision until he read about it in The Tribune the next day. After that, Casciola said, Iniguez contacted authorities in a reasonable amount of time.

Casciola said outside the courtroom Friday that he was confident he'd see a hung jury or a not-guilty verdict. He noted that the jurors asked on Monday, the first day of deliberations, whether they would have to be unanimous when voting on any of the charges, indicating to him that some jurors had doubts.

In criminal trials, every juror must agree with the verdict.

Deputy District Attorney Karen Gray said her office must decide by Wednesday -- when she meets again with Casciola and Duffy -- whether it'll stop prosecution against Iniguez or retry any of the charges. Gray said Friday she wasn't sure what she would do. If she seeks a retrial, a new jury would have to be selected.

Jurors were not available for comment at the courthouse.

Eleanor Tucker, Paul Tucker's mother and Virginia and Peter Hunt's sister, left her home in San Diego for three weeks to be present for the trial.

Reached at her home Friday, she said she was disappointed.

"I don't harbor bad feelings," she said, "but I would just like it to be resolved. I'm trusting that the people on the jury made a sincere effort. You never know how a jury's going to go."

Meanwhile, Iniguez pleaded guilty to charges of possessing and being under the influence of cocaine when he was arrested in February 2003. He could be sentenced to two years in jail or prison.

Case Updates

Rural Arroyo Grande resident Jose Maria Iniguez choked back tears Wednesday morning as he apologized for causing a triple fatality in the North County almost three years ago.

"I'm very sorry for what happened," Iniguez told Superior Court Judge Michael Duffy before the judge handed down his sentence for the 2002 accident. "I can't change anything. I acted the way that my lawyer told me to. If I spend all my life in jail, it won't change anything."

Iniguez was sentenced to one year in County Jail and, once released, will spend five years on felony probation for the accident that took the lives of Peter Hunt, 66, of Atascadero; his sister, Virginia Hunt Richardson, 61, of Honolulu; and their nephew, Paul Tucker, 41, also of Atascadero.

The one-year sentence was part of a plea bargain he struck with the District Attorney's Office in March, when he pleaded no contest to one count of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for the three deaths.

Hunt, Tucker and Richardson were instantly killed when one of two horses Iniguez was hauling to La Panza fell out of its trailer on Highway 101 just north of Cuesta Grade and was struck by Hunt's oncoming Toyota Tercel.

Iniguez was originally facing three felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, felony hit-and-run and felony animal cruelty. His April 2004 trial, which lasted one month, ended in a mistrial.

Jurors deliberated five days before announcing they voted 10-2 to not convict Iniguez on the hit-and-run charge and were split 7-5 to convict on the remaining four counts.

During the trial, Iniguez, who left the scene of the accident before law enforcement arrived, testified he didn't know his horse was hit by the car until he read about the accident in a local newspaper the following day.

He also testified he contacted a lawyer on the Monday following the fatal accident, which occurred about 9 p.m. on a Friday. He said his lawyer, Chris Casciola, told him not to talk to authorities about the accident.

"For nearly three years now, (Jose Iniguez) has been punished by my legal advice," Casciola said during the sentencing hearing. "I need to own up to that and accept responsibility. He's not a careless, reckless person. But for the grace of God, any one of us could be in his position."

As part of the plea bargain, Deputy District Attorney Karen Gray agreed to combine the three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence into one count, which reflects the three victims' deaths.

The one count of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence carries a maximum sentence of six years in state prison. If Iniguez violates his probation at any time during the next five years, the maximum sentence he could face would be the six years minus time served, Duffy said.

"I hope you do well on probation," Duffy told Iniguez, after granting a defense request to allow Iniguez to turn himself over to authorities on June 20 to start serving his sentence.

He's expected to serve two-thirds of the one-year sentence, with credit for 33 days already served, according to Casciola.

Iniguez was also ordered to pay $2,700 in restitution and perform 500 hours of community service after his release from jail.

Source: Times-Press Recorder - May 13, 2005
Update posted on May 13, 2005 - 7:16PM

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Jose Maria Iniguez won't face a second jury trial for the crimes. Instead, Iniguez will be sentenced to one year in County Jail for the accident that took the lives of Peter Hunt, 66, of Atascadero, his sister, Virginia Hunt Richardson, 61, of Honolulu, Hawaii, and their nephew, Paul Tucker, 41, also of Atascadero.

During a trial-setting conference Wednesday morning, Iniguez agreed to plead no contest to one count of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for the three deaths as part of a plea bargain reached with the District Attorney's Office.

In exchange for his no-contest plea, Deputy District Attorney Karen Gray agreed to dismiss the other felony charges Iniguez was facing -- one count of hit-and-run causing death or injury and one count of animal cruelty.

Gray also combined the initial three individual counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence into one charge that included all three victims.

The no-contest plea will count as a "strike" against Iniguez under the state's "three-strikes law," which means if he's convicted of any future felonies, his sentence for that crime could be doubled.

"I hope it never happens, but if you commit a felony in the future, your punishment could be doubled because of this strike," Superior Court Judge Michael Duffy told Iniguez, who will also spend time on felony probation after serving his one-year sentence.

The one count of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence carries a maximum sentence of six years in state prison. If Iniguez violates his probation, the maximum sentence he could face would be the six years with time served, Duffy said.

In addition, Iniguez could also be ordered to pay fines from $200 to $10,000 to the victims' family if the Probation Department recommends he pay restitution.

A jury of seven women and five men was deadlocked in Iniguez's first month-long trial that ended in early April 2004, leaving Duffy with no choice but to declare a mistrial.

The jury voted 10-2 to acquit on the hit-and-run charge and were split 7-5 to convict on the remaining four counts, which is why Iniguez's attorney, Chris Casciola, fought so hard for a plea bargain.

"It just didn't seem fair that he plead to (the hit-and-run charge)," Casciola said after the hearing about the jury's 10-2 vote. "Mr. Iniguez never intended to cause injuries and never would have left the scene if he knew there was an accident.

"The plea bargain reflects what the jury found at the first trial."

During Iniguez's trial, Casciola contended his client didn't know he caused an accident until the following day when he read about it in a local newspaper.

Hunt, Tucker and Richardson were instantly killed when one of two horses Iniguez was hauling to La Panza fell out of its trailer on Highway 101 just north of the Cuesta Grade and was struck by Hunt's oncoming Toyota Tercel.

Iniguez will be sentenced May 11 in San Luis Obispo Superior Court, Department 1.

Source: Times Press Recorder - March 11, 2005
Update posted on Mar 13, 2005 - 8:30PM

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Horse fell out of trailer, causing motor vehicle accidentArroyo Grande, CA (US)

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Horse fell out of trailer, causing motor vehicle accident
Arroyo Grande, CA (US)