By Julia Urquizo
RIVERSIDE, CA – Three cases were considered here in Riverside County Superior Court Tuesday, and all were different.
IN THE FIRST CASE, Ivan Alvarado was met with a pleasant surprise when Judge Otis Sterling, III, quashed his outstanding warrant here for missing his preliminary hearing.
Alvarado was charged with burglary on Aug. 3, 2020, and is currently set for a preliminary hearing, which has been delayed since his missed the last one.
It’s not as though Alvarado didn’t claim to have a good excuse for missing his court date.
Deputy Public Defender Melissa McConaghay confirmed Alvarado had failed to appear in court previously because he was stuck in Los Angeles traffic. Alvarado reached out to his attorney notifying that he was going to be late.
This appeared to be sufficient enough evidence to convince Judge Sterling to recall the warrant, and Alvarado can move on to his preliminary hearing.
IN THE NEXT CASE, and next traffic mishap, Judge Sterling had to tackle, he had to consider a motion for a defendant’s DUI (driving under the influence) violations to be considered ineligible.
This involved a traffic collision in which the individual was so intoxicated they sideswiped a vehicle in a parking lot. Beyond that, the woman’s blood alcohol concentration tested at 0.21 percent.
When Judge Sterling contended that the owner of the sideswiped vehicle should be easy to track down for potential restitution, the prosecution responded that they did not have a phone number for the witness/victim—only a name.
Judge Sterling granted more time for the prosecution to track down the owner of the vehicle that the defendant allegedly sideswiped.
IN THE LAST CASE, Ricardo Mora was charged with reckless driving on May 25, 2020, for driving more than 100 mph. Judge Sterling reminded Mora, “Should you drive over 100 mph and someone dies as a result of that, you can be charged with second degree murder in California.”
Mora has been placed in a temporary misdemeanor diversion program until his next court hearing April 12, 2022.
