Sonoma County judge OKs murder trial in fatal DUI crash

A Sonoma County judge ruled there’s enough evidence for a murder trial against a Santa Rosa man with two prior DUI convictions involved in a late-night crash on Highway 101 that killed a Windsor woman.

Fernando Leon-Aguilera, 31, will be arraigned anew Wednesday in Sonoma County Superior Court after Judge Dana Simonds approved a trial on charges of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and committing repeated DUI offenses, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office. A second-?degree murder conviction could result in a prison sentence of ?15 years to life.

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch, who has rarely handled prosecutions since she took office in 2011, said she is taking the lead in the trial because of the seriousness of drunken driving.

“I’ve been very outspoken about prosecuting repeat drunk drivers,” Ravitch said.

Leon-Aguilera is being charged with the March 21 killing of Rosa Lua, 45, of Windsor, a sustainability expert and the sole parent of 4-year-old twins.

Lua was driving south on Highway 101 south of River Road about 11 p.m. when her Honda Civic was rear-ended by a Ford Fusion driven by Leon-?Aguilera, according to the CHP. Leon-Aguilera was heading to his parents’ home in Santa Rosa after a day of work in production at Jaxon Keys Winery and Distillery in Hopland, according to the CHP and his lawyer.

The impact caused the Civic to crash into a guardrail and flip onto its roof. Lua died at the scene. Leon-Aguilera was arrested after officials said he failed a field sobriety test.

The case involves two Sonoma County families.

One family is grappling with the sudden and senseless loss of Lua and the need to take over the care for her young ?children, a boy and a girl. Lua was passionate about sustainability and worked as a consultant for organizations seeking environmental certification for building projects through the nationally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environment Design, or LEED, certification program, according to her family.

The other family affected by the deadly crash belongs to Leon-Aguilera, who has been held without bail at the Sonoma County Jail since his March 21 arrest. They and a group of loyal friends have attended court hearings to show support for him. A family member of Leon-Aguilera’s reached by phone declined to comment at this point in the case.

His attorney, Joe Stogner, said he has received about 45 letters of support for Leon-Aguilera.

“He’s very, very, very sorry this happened. It was a tragic accident and he didn’t realize he was under the influence - if in fact he was,” Stogner said.

His blood-alcohol level was nearly two times the legal limit to drive when it was tested sometime after the crash, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors charged him with murder under laws allowing impaired drivers with previous DUI convictions to be tried on the grounds they know driving under the influence was dangerous to human life but did it anyway. Leon-Aguilera has been convicted of drunken driving twice before in Sonoma County, once in 2011 and another time in 2009.

Stogner said the legal standard holding DUI drivers liable for murder requires prosecutors prove the driver held a conscious disregard for human life - and he strongly contested the notion that Leon-Aguilera held that thought. Leon-?Aguilera had been working all day at the winery and “didn’t believe he was impaired,” he said.

“I’m very confident that when presented with the facts that a jury will conclude that there’s no way Leon-Aguilera didn’t care if someone else died,” Stogner said. “It’s simply not true.”

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.