Man pleads no contest to fatal hit-and-run in Oildale
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A 52-year-old man has pleaded no contest to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run causing death in connection to a crash that occurred in Oildale last year.
Byran Lee Stetson on Thursday made what’s called an “open plea,” in which a defendant pleads no contest to all charges in the hope the court sentences them to lesser punishment than what’s sought by the prosecution.
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He faces up to 12 years in prison, District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Daniela Gonzaga said. Sentencing is set for May 13.
California Highway Patrol investigators say Stetson ran a four-way stop in a Jeep Liberty on May 28 at the intersection of Airport Drive and Petrol Road. The SUV hit a motorcycle, throwing its rider, Glenn Patterson, 62. Patterson died June 1 at Kern Medical.
Stetson was linked to the crash and arrested June 15, officers said.
At an earlier hearing, prosecutor Brandon Stallings told the court Stetson had been convicted in 2010 for a homicide that occurred in Washington. Stetson said he served 10 years and nine months in prison in that case, the details of which were not discussed in court.
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