A man who was sentenced to a state prison term for a 2018 Escondido DUI crash that killed two 19-year-olds was in county jail Thursday as part of a new North County DUI case.
County jail records indicate Francisco Andres Alvarez, 31, was booked into custody Thursday on two misdemeanor DUI counts, involving both alcohol and drugs. He pleaded not guilty Thursday morning in Vista Superior Court.
According to a criminal complaint, Alvarez is accused of driving under the influence of alcohol on July 6. The DUI counts contain allegations of driving with prior gross vehicular manslaughter convictions.
He was being held on $175,000 bail as of late Thursday afternoon and will have to wear an alcohol-monitoring device if he bails out.
Alvarez pleaded guilty to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI causing injury for the March 25, 2018, crash that killed Brandon Contreras and Ana Lira.
Prosecutors said alcohol, marijuana and cocaine were in Alvarez’s system at the time of the crash.
He was sentenced last year to nearly eight years in state prison, but a judge ruled that he could remain out of custody until an appeals process was completed before serving his term. That appeal remains ongoing, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
The victims were in a Mustang that was broadsided at the intersection of Ash Street and El Norte Parkway by Alvarez’s Dodge Charger at around 11:30 p.m.
Police say Alvarez ran a red light and struck the Mustang, killing Contreras and Lira, as well as seriously injuring an underage boy also riding in the vehicle.
Until Thursday, Alvarez had been out of custody for the past five years. A defense attorney for the defendant told NBC San Diego last year that he “feels terrible for the families and he’s actually taken this time that he’s been out on bail to talk to friends and relatives and co-workers about the dangers of driving under the influence.”
– City News Service
