The two men accused of vehicular manslaughter in the death of their friend during a motorcycle ride appeared in Santa Barbara County Superior Court on Thursday to be arraigned after their preliminary hearing.
Raul Ibarra, 24, went for a ride with his two friends on March 2, crossed the double yellow line during a tight turn on Foothill Road and crashed into an SUV driving the other direction. He died of his injuries.
Judge George Eskin ordered Francisco Rodriguez, 23, and Jonathan Alvarez-Leon, 24, to stand trial for felony vehicular manslaughter, participating in a speed contest causing injury, and reckless driving with great bodily injury.
The case is now assigned to Judge Jean Dandona’s courtroom, and Deputy District Attorney Sanford Horowitz is prosecuting the case.
Rodriguez’s attorneys, from Bamieh & Erikson in Ventura, asked to continue the arraignment for two weeks.
Alvarez-Leon’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Christine Voss, said her client is in a different situation since he is still in custody at the County Jail, while Rodriguez has made bail and was released.
Alvarez-Leon entered a not-guilty plea and denied all special allegations Thursday morning, and Voss said they won’t be giving a time waiver, which makes the court move the case along faster.
During the preliminary hearing, Eskin said there was enough evidence to determine the men were involved in a speed contest at the time of the collision, which is at the center of the prosecution’s case.
Horowitz has argued that the men were grossly negligent in their speeding, reckless driving and failure to obey the rules of the road.
According to testimony, the three friends were riding along Foothill Road, with Rodriguez in front of the other two. On a blind curve near the Santa Barbara Tennis Club, Ibarra crossed over the double-yellow line dividing the lanes and crashed into an oncoming SUV.
Ibarra had gone down a steep embankment off the road after the impact, and Alvarez-Leon locked up his front wheel and skidded off the road nearby.
Rodriguez had been riding ahead of them and doubled back when he realized they weren’t behind him anymore. Prosecutors are accusing him of leaving the scene of an accident since he allegedly drove back to the scene and then left from there.
Both men are scheduled to be back in court April 18.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.