Francisco Miranda murder case goes to jury
Linda Williams and Cynthia Lane died Nov. 20, 2013 after Francisco Miranda, 25, hit them with his vehicle.
Francisco Miranda murder case goes to jury Linda Williams and Cynthia Lane died Nov. 20, 2013 after Francisco Miranda, 25, hit them with his vehicle. Check out this story on thecalifornian.com: http://bit.ly/1O1euty
Chelcey Adami, The Californian Published 9:32 p.m. PT Nov. 17, 2015
Francisco Miranda (Photo: Provided )
The jury begins deliberations this week in the trial of a man accused of vehicular hit-and-run deaths of two women while under the influence of marijuana two years ago.
Francisco Miranda, 25, is being prosecuted for the deaths of 24-year-old Linda Rascon Williams and 57-year-old Cynthia Lane on Nov. 20, 2013.
Williams, a hospital security guard, was returning a backpack to Lane, a patient who had just left the hospital, when Miranda allegedly drove his vehicle into the two women on East Laurel Drive at Constitution Boulevard just after 7 p.m. Both died shortly after.
Prosecutors have said he ran them over while driving under the influence of marijuana.
Miranda faces two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence causing injury, hit-and-run resulting in injury and death, and driving with a license suspended due to a prior DUI conviction.
Miranda was previously convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol twice, both in the same year as the fatal collision, and has said he didn't feel the judge's admonishment to not drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs applied to marijuana, due to his personal belief that marijuana isn't a drug and that its use doesn't impair his driving.
In California, a person can be convicted of second-degree murder for killing someone in an accident while driving under the influence, known as a "Watson Murder," based on the idea of implied malice: that if they were previously convicted of driving under the influence, they would be aware of the danger it poses and have a conscious disregard for human life.
In closing arguments Tuesday, Deputy District Attorney Angela McNulty outlined the elements of each charge and how she feels that Miranda meets those criteria.
She said that Miranda does not appreciate the risk involved with driving under the influence of marijuana and exhibited an "I don't care" attitude by driving on a suspended license and under the influence.
McNulty also pointed out that Miranda didn't appl his brakes as he hit the two women while going between 40 and 60 miles per hour. Some witnesses have said that a person was waving their hands at Miranda trying to get him to avoid hitting the women.
Miranda also didn't render assistance or provide information when he pulled over after the collision. Miranda has testified that he left the scene of the incident "in shock" and to look for his friends who left his car.
McNulty further underscored that he was under the influence based on the testimony of friends who said he smoked marijuana shortly before the collision, responding officers' observations, test results, and testimony of other drivers.
Miranda has testified that he smoked marijuana around 3 or 4 p.m. that day, but he wasn't under the influence at the time of the collision.
While reviewing the trial evidence and testimony, defense attorney Deanna Davis argued that the area was "pitch black" that night and that the women were wearing black clothing.
Davis said that the fact that Miranda didn't apply the brakes supports the idea that he simply didn't see the women until it was too late and that it was an accident that could have happened to anyone.
She pointed out inconsistencies in witness testimony and that other drivers didn't see the women until they were stopped at the intersection.
Davis also repeated several times that at the speed Miranda was driving, he was traveling about 66 feet a second, making it unlikely or impossible that he would have seen the women in time regardless.
Driving under the influence of marijuana hasn't been shown to impair driving, she added, and responding officers showed "decision bias" as they evaluated Miranda that night while unable to explain how his driving was impaired, only that he was under the influence.
McNulty countered that these arguments were all about minimizing and distancing the issue. Miranda broke the law by driving on a suspended license and under the influence, she said, and his common sense should have been heightened by his two previous DUIs.
By driving anyway, he was acting "in arrogance" and "playing roulette" with others' lives, McNulty said.
"That conscious disregard for the safety of others, that is the crime," she said after showing photos of Williams and Lane to the jury.
The prosecution and defense rested their cases Monday after more than two weeks of testimony in the jury trial.
If convicted of all the charges, Miranda faces 34 years to life in prison and an additional six months in the Monterey County Jail, according to past reports.
Miranda has been held on $2.4 million bail and has also pleaded guilty to his role in a fight at the Monterey County Jail. He has not been sentenced for that felony yet.
The jury won't deliberate Wednesday due to a scheduling conflict for a juror but will return for deliberations on Thursday.
Contact Public Safety Reporter Chelcey Adami at 831-754-4261 or cadami@thecalifornian.com
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