A Santa Rosa woman charged with murder in a fatal crash that happened while she was allegedly trying to run down her ex-boyfriend on his motorcycle admitted she had been drinking, a prosecutor said Friday.
Heather Howell, 28, is charged with killing Jesse Garcia, 55, also of Santa Rosa, when she rear-ended his vintage sportscar.
During a bail reduction hearing Friday, prosecutor Anne Masterson said Howell admitted drinking some time before the July 14 crash on Hall Road. Masterson said a witness corroborated the account.
She said the result of a blood test on Howell is pending but declined further elaboration.
"If there is evidence to support other charges we will move forward on them," Masterson said outside court after arguing successfully to keep Howell behind bars.
Howell's lawyer, Steve Spiegleman, told the judge he had no information that Howell had been drinking. She was convicted in 2006 of drunken driving but had an otherwise clean record, he said.
He argued the Point Arena High graduate and nursing school student did not pose a flight or safety risk.
Still, Judge Knoel Owen denied a request to release her on bail. She will return to court July 27 to enter a plea.
Investigators said Howell and an ex-boyfriend — identified by sources as Charles "Tony" Kraus, 45, of Penngrove — had been fighting at her parents' Hartman Lane home before the crash. Authorities have refused to identify the ex-boyfriend by name, saying he was potentially a victim of domestic violence.
The man took off on his Harley-Davidson and Howell chased him in a car, reaching speeds up to 80 mph, said Sgt. Carlos Basurto of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.
Witnesses said it appeared Howell was trying to hit the motorcyclist, Basurto said.
Howell collided with another car and then struck Garcia, who was westbound on Hall Road in a 1969 Triumph TR6. He was trapped in his car as it burst into flames, officers said.
Howell was initially charged with manslaughter and reckless driving. Earlier this week, prosecutors charged her instead with murder under an "implied malice" theory. She faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted.
Friends who appeared at her court hearing Friday declined to comment about the case.
Kraus, who has an unrelated reckless driving case pending in Sonoma County, also has declined to comment.
Staff Writer Randi Rossmann contributed to this story.
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