L.A. County Superior Court Judge Hilleri Merritt set a Dec. 17 hearing for arguments over a fatal crash that left one person dead in Saugus on Nov. 1, 2023.
Raul Rosales Ramirez, 22, of Canyon Country, was charged with one count of second-degree murder for driving into a pole in the early morning hours after Halloween in a crash resulting in the death of Orlando Gomez Sales, 39, of Santa Clarita, on Bouquet Canyon Road.
In the filing, prosecutors referred to what’s known as a “Watson advisement” a person gets after a first DUI conviction.
Ramirez was convicted of a DUI in Santa Clarita on May 24, 2023, according to the prosecution, which comes with a statement from the defendant acknowledging the defendant is aware of how dangerous driving under the influence is, and that, as a result of this understanding, if the person chooses to drink and drive again and someone is killed in a future crash, the person is now eligible for a murder charge.
Ramirez pleaded not guilty through an interpreter at his formal arraignment in July, after court records indicated he turned down a 15-year plea deal.
Last week, his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jeanette Lee, filed a 34-page 995 motion that asks Merritt to set aside Judge David Walgren’s finding of sufficient evidence for a murder charge back in July.
In the motion, Lee’s statement of facts include her client driving and under the influence when he crashed into a wooden telephone pole on the west side of the southbound lane of Bouquet Canyon Road at 3:37 a.m. Deputies testified Ramirez said he had been drinking and that he and Sales were on their way to get more alcohol.
But the factors that elevate a vehicular manslaughter charge to “Watson murder” aren’t present in the allegations against Ramirez, Lee wrote, stating malice aforethought, or intention, must be proven for a murder charge.
“The only question, then, is whether the people proved that Mr. Ramirez harbored malice aforethought when this solo vehicle accident occurred,” she wrote in her motion. The brief cites more than a half-dozen cases of so-called “Watson” murders and why Ramirez’s is different.
The brief states that implied malice occurs when: the killing is intentional; the natural and probable consequences of the act were dangerous; at the time, the defendant knew this; and the act was deliberate.
“A close examination of these cases and factors will demonstrate that, while no single factor is required, their purpose is to determine whether the driver of the vehicle, before or at the time of the accident (underlined in the brief), knew that their driving was a danger to and was done with conscious disregard for, human life,” according to the brief.
The prosecution’s evidence includes statements from when Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies approached the car for their initial investigation of the crash scene. Ramirez was found with alcohol containers in the car, including one in his lap, according to a court record.
Prosecutors also mentioned the original Watson advisement given to Ramirez, which concludes with: “If you continue to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both, and, as a result of that driving, someone is killed, you can be charged with murder.”
Three hours after the crash, a station deputy who specializes in DUI investigations reported a reading of 0.15 for the defendant’s blood-alcohol level, which was later verified by a criminologist, according to the prosecution’s motion challenging the defense motion.
Ramirez has remained in custody without bail since his November 2023 arrest.
A website to support the victim’s family was set up here: gofundme.com/f/orlando-gomez.
