Hearing delayed for man suspected of fatal car crash on Planz Road

MELANIE NGUYEN, The Bakersfield Californian
·2 min read

The hearing for the man suspected of killing two women and injuring another woman in a fatal car crash earlier this year has been delayed to August after the defendant got a new defense attorney Monday in Kern County Superior Court.

Arturo Munoz, 25, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, one count of DUI causing bodily injury, one count of DUI with a blood alcohol level surpassing 0.08%, one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs combined causing bodily injury, one count of reckless driving and one count of driving with a suspended or revoked license from a DUI.

Because of Munoz’s three prior DUI cases, he was also charged with DUI and DUI with a blood alcohol level of 0.08% with three prior DUIs.

At Monday’s hearing, the court approved a motion for Munoz to change his defense attorney from the Public Defender’s Office to a private attorney: defense attorney H.A. Sala.

Sala told the courts Monday that he needed more time to prepare for the case before the preliminary hearing, according to Kristin Davis, public information officer for Kern County Superior Court.

According to a news release from the Bakersfield Police Department, on Feb. 9, officers were monitoring reckless driving on White and Hughes lanes and followed a few cars leaving a car meet. Officers followed cars leaving the meet and chased Munoz’s car at a high speed, according to a BPD police report filed with the court.

According to the police report, officers briefly lost track of the car until they saw the car crash involving the defendant and a parked car with three women inside. The driver of the parked car, Hortencia Garcia De Haro, 30, of Delano died at the scene in the 1900 block of Planz Road, according to the Kern County coroner’s office.

The two passengers in the parked car were taken to Kern Medical for treatment for their injuries, according to the BPD report. One of them, Vanessa Lasarist Madrigal, died later, according to the complaint filed in court by the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.

Munoz’s next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 20 and he is currently being held without bail.