A Ventura man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and DUI for a car crash that occurred on May 11, 2011 in which he was responsible for the death of a bicyclist and injured two others, as reported by the Ventura County Star.
The case was heard before Judge Bruce Young in Ventura County Superior Court.
Prosecutors stated that S.S., 50, had a blood alcohol level of 0.39 percent when he struck and killed N.H., 20, with his Hummer.
Jurors applauded and told the prosecutor he had done a "great job" when the two-day hearing concluded.
C.B., a juror from Simi Valley, said, "I'm relieved, very relieved." J.B. a juror from Camarillo also commented, "From all of the evidence that we've seen, he seems completely guilty."
C.B. approached N.H.'s mother, S.H., outside of the courtroom and hugged her.
S.H. told the supporters that lined the hallway, "We're grateful that this has finally come to an end and that (S.S.) will be in jail for a good long time, because we felt from the very beginning that he's a dangerous man. We continue to be gratified and amazed by how many people in our midst care about things like this happening and want to prevent them from ever happening again."
J.H., N.H.'s father, noted that several people had offered their support and that "complete strangers showed up for (N.H.'s) memorial, sent flowers and wrote notes."
In regards to S.S.'s family, neither J.H. or S.H. had spoken to them but they graciously said that "they're victims" as well.
S.S., a resident of Ventura, owns a liquor store in Santa Paula. A Punjabi translator joined him in court. A few family members came for a short time.
Prosecutor Richard Simon had begun his statements by explaining that before the collision that resulted in N.H.'s death, S.S. had several other collisions while traveling on Telegraph Road. First he struck two other bicyclists, C.T. and her daughter D.T., and caused minor injuries and some stitches to C.T.'s head.
As S.S. proceeded to drive west toward Petit Avenue he hit a stopped vehicle that had three people inside of it.
Then S.S. drove into J.H. on his bicycle. According to Simon, the impact caused J.H. to fly "through the air, crashing to the ground and to his death. He never woke up."
Of the jury's work Simon said, "They were outstanding witnesses. They were just citizens in the community who saw what happened and I think that he kind of realized that."
David Lehr, S.S.'s attorney, commented, "Watching the witnesses and victim's friends testify, he didn't want to put the victim's family through any more trauma. Trials evolve and sometimes evidence comes out better or worse for you, and those changes sometimes make you do different things."
S.S. is facing 15 years to life in jail and is currently being held without bail in the Ventura County jail. His sentencing is scheduled for December 12.
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