A Santa Barbara Superior Court jury found a man guilty of second-degree murder Tuesday for causing a head-on vehicle collision that killed a Solvang woman and her two children.
John Dungan, 30, of Santa Barbara, was charged with three counts of murder after his vehicle slammed head-on into another vehicle on Oct. 25, 2019. The collision killed 34-year-old Rebecca Vanessa Bley and her children, 2-year-old Lucienne Bley Gleason and 4-month-old Desmond Bley Gleason.
Investigators said he intentionally caused the crash and alleged Dungan was suicidal and homicidal at the time of the collision.
The criminal trial started in mid-June and jurors have been deliberating since Thursday, when attorneys finished their closing arguments.
In court Tuesday, Judge Thomas Adams read the jury forms that found Dungan not guilty of first-degree murder, and guilty of second-degree murder for all three counts – one for each of the victims.
Defense attorney Jeremy Lessem requested that the jury be polled, and each of the 12 people confirmed to the judge that the second-degree guilty verdicts were their personal verdicts.
Criminal jury verdicts have to be unanimous.
Adams released the jurors and thanked them for their time.
A sentencing hearing for Dungan was set for Sept. 28, where he faces a prison term of 45 years to life.
“The jurors clearly were very, very thoughtful — took their time, methodically went through all of the evidence, reviewed the law and they came to a fair verdict,” Deputy District Attorney Megan Chanda said after the verdict was read.
“The challenge in a case like this when it’s charged as a murder involving a vehicle is to get jurors to understand that the vehicle is a deadly weapon,” Deputy District Attorney Stephen Wagner told Noozhawk. “The conduct of the defendant was indicative of intentional conduct. Ensuring that the jurors maintained focus throughout was also important and they did that. I applaud this jury for their tenacity — it’s quite obvious that they took their duties very seriously.”
“I respect the process,” said Lessem, Dungan’s attorney. “I appreciate all the hard work and how conscientious the jurors were.”
Noozhawk staff writer Serena Guentz contributed reporting to this story.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.