An El Cajon drunk driver pleaded guilty Mar. 20 to gross vehicular manslaughter in the death of her passenger, David Sarabia-Lopez, who was also her boyfriend.
Tania Molinar, 22, also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and causing great bodily injury to another driver, James Dodson, whose pick-up was torn in half in the horrific crash in El Cajon.
An El Cajon drunk driver pleaded guilty Mar. 20 to gross vehicular manslaughter in the death of her passenger, David Sarabia-Lopez, who was also her boyfriend.
Tania Molinar, 22, also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and causing great bodily injury to another driver, James Dodson, whose pick-up was torn in half in the horrific crash in El Cajon.
Molinar faces a maximum sentence of 11 years and eight months in state prison, said her attorney, Gloria Collins. She said both Molinar and her boyfriend went out drinking earlier that night.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge Patricia Cookson set sentencing for June 12. She indicated she might consider a sentence of seven years in prison.
On May 5, 2017, Molinar was driving her silver Mazda sedan in the 1800 block of Avocado Boulevard around 4:15 a.m. when she crashed into a white Ford Ranger in the opposite lane.
Dodson, 25, told KFMB-TV (Channel 8) he was hospitalized and lost a foot of his intestines and his spleen resulting from injuries from the collision.
Sarabia-Lopez, 29, of El Cajon, died at the scene.
Molinar remains in the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility without bail.
Spring Valley man convicted of attempted murder
A jury has convicted Jaquan Donte Ramsey, 30, of attempted murder and domestic violence assault upon a woman who was shot in both arms in Spring Valley.
Ramsey was also convicted of assault with a firearm, and making criminal threats in the Aug. 29, 2017 incident in the 8400 block of Pasco Iglesia.
Deputy District Attorney Jessica Paugh said Ramsey faces a prison sentence of 25 years to life plus seven years.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge John Thompson set sentencing for May 4. Ramsey remains in jail on $1 million bail.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 2:51 p.m. 911 call in which a woman was hospitalized for wounds to her right hand and left arm. Deputies searched the area and received assistance from ASTERA and a canine unit.
Ramsey was arrested and a handgun used to shoot the woman was recovered.
Arsonist on the loose
A $100,000 warrant was issued for the arrest of an El Cajon vandal who is also charged with arson in Boulevard after he failed to show up in court.
Anthony Ramon Saldana, 30, had been free on $100,000 bond, but he was a no-show on Mar. 13. An El Cajon Superior Court judge issued the warrant Mar. 16.
On Mar. 23, a prosecutor said Saldana was still a fugitive.
Saldana was accused of burning a mobile home in Boulevard on Crestwood Road on June 14, 2017. The property owner shot Saldana and wounded him in the arm while he was breaking into vehicles and screaming in the middle of the night, according to testimony.
Saldana was hospitalized for the arm wound and later arrested. He posted bond, but was arrested again Dec. 7 for vandalism and trying to enter an El Cajon home through a window in the 200 block of Indiana Avenue.
An El Cajon Police officer testified Saldana told him he was looking for a woman. He is also charged with possession of narcotic paraphernalia, possession of a firearm by a felon, and vehicle tampering.
Saldana had been living in an Escondido rehabilitation facility, according to his attorney, but he apparently left it. He had been ordered to stand trial Feb. 26 on the charges at a preliminary hearing.
The warrant says Saldana is 5’11” tall, weighs 235 pounds, is Hispanic, and has brown hair and brown eyes.
