Drunken Mex/Migrants Hit and Run

[Johnny99]

Drunken Mex's Pregnant Wife Killed In Collision

http://www.10tv.com/?sec=news&story=sites/10tv/content/pool/200801/332637170.html Pregnant Woman Killed In Crash
Jan 01 2008 5:33PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Police believed alcohol was a factor in a crash that killed a pregnant woman Tuesday morning on the city's northwest side.

A man driving a Toyota sedan ran a red light at Riverside Drive and Hayden Run Road at about 6 a.m. and was hit by an oncoming Ohio Department of Transportation truck, 10TV News reported.

The driver's wife, Paulina Martinez, had to be extricated from the vehicle. She was taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

There were three children inside the vehicle at the time of the crash, 10TV News reported. The children, ages 2, 4, and 7 years old, were taken to Nationwide Children's Hospital. Two of the children were treated and released. Juan Martinez, 2, suffered a skull fracture and was in critical condition.

Police believed the driver of the vehicle, Alfonso Martinez, had been drinking, 10TV News reported.

Charges were pending against Alfonso Martinez, police said.

The driver of the ODOT truck was not injured.

Reported by Patrick Bell

 

[Rasp]

Smelly mex leaves a smelly trail

A smelly case: Dog poop footprints lead police to drunken driving suspect

DURHAM, N.C. — Police found a man accused of drunkenly driving into a yard by following a trail left after he walked away through droppings left by the resident's dogs.

Police say Josue Herrios-Coronilla, 18, was drunk when he left his apartment and drove his black Camaro on the wrong side of the road, all the way into the front yard of Bill McDonald's house.

It was 11 p.m. Monday, and Bill McDonald was asleep.

“My daughter came running into the room and said, 'Dad, there are headlights right outside my window.'”�”�

McDonald called police, and when they arrived, they saw felled fencing, crushed bushes and the inoperable car. The driver was gone.

Luckily for police, two of McDonald's four dogs -- a Great Pyrenees named Comet and a chow named Snowball -- use the yard as their dumping grounds. And when the driver stepped out of his car, he left a fresh shoe print in a pile of droppings and an odoriferous trail down the street, said Durham police Sgt. Dale Gunter.

Gunter followed the path and stopped a white van driving toward him, asking the passenger, Herrios-Coronilla, to get out. The officer smelled his breath. He smelled alcohol.

Then, he looked at the man's shoes. They were covered in evidence. :lol:

A breath test showed Herrios-Coronilla had a blood-alcohol level of 0.11, Gunter said. The legal limit is 0.08. He was charged with driving while impaired and drinking underage, and was released from the Durham County jail Wednesday on $1,500 bail. Efforts to reach him failed.

Though McDonald's yard is torn up, he said he's glad that no one was hurt -- and that his dogs weren't frolicking in the yard when the crash occurred. The canines appeared oblivious Wednesday to the good their well-placed doo did.

 

[Johnny99]

Victoriano Kills 2, Bails Out On Wife And Kids​

Driver in hit-and-run appears in court

Victoriano Layon makes his first appearance in Wake District Court on second-degree murder charges. Layon is accused of causing a car wreck Friday that killed two siblings.
Staff Photo by Shawn Rocco

By Thomasi McDonald, Staff Writer
RALEIGH - A Selma man accused of causing a wreck that killed two people Friday on U.S. 70 in Garner could face 34 and a half years in prison on each of two second-degree murder charges, a judge said today.
Victoriano Thomas Layon, 35, appeared this afternoon before Wake District Court Judge Jennifer Knox, who appointed a public defender to represent him. Knox declined to set bond for Layon, who is being held in the county jail.

As he left the courtroom to return to jail, Layon appeared pensive, with his lips pursed and his head bowed.

Layon was heading east on U.S. 70 about 6:15 p.m. Friday when his Ford F150 slammed into the rear of a Ford Taurus, killing Wanda Gail Altman, 53, of Clayton and her brother, Daris Wayne Hancock, 49, of Star.

Investigators said Layon ran from the scene, leaving behind his wife and two sons, ages 15 and 10, who were traveling with him. He was arrested Saturday morning when Clayton authorities found him walking along U.S. 70 near Enterprise Drive.

 

[TxTiger]

DWI Driver gets 20 Years

Story Updated: Feb 23, 2008 at 6:19 PM CST

TYLER - A Tyler man is sentenced to 20 years in prison, for a d-w-i crash that killed his four-year-old stepson.

Jamie Oscar Patrescio, was sentenced to prison on Thursday.

Last July, police say Patrescio went through an intersection, and crashed into another car.

He was charged with, intoxicated manslaughter.

http://www.ketknbc.com/news/local/15908267.html

 

[TxTiger]

Woman Charged In Deaths From Multi-Car Crash

POSTED: 6:24 pm CST March 2, 2008
UPDATED: 6:27 pm CST March 2, 2008

FORT WORTH, Texas -- A Tarrant County woman was charged in connection with the deaths of two women in a weekend car crash in Fort Worth.

Fort Worth police arrested Alisia Padilla on two counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault.

Police said she hit several cars after leaving a bar. Investigators said she hit one car in the parking lot, another vehicle while fleeing the scene and then ran a red light and slammed into two other vehicles.

Danielle Hooten, 18, Cynthia Revilla, 24, were killed. A baby was ejected from a car seat and thrown from their vehicle. The child remains in the hospital.

http://www.nbc5i.com/newsarchive/15467701/detail.html

 

[Johnny99]

Mex Wrecks, Girlfriend Dies, Mex Flees​

Esteban Baesa​

Jacquie Martinez​

Man flees after girlfriend dies in crash​

09:52 PM CST on Saturday, March 8, 2008

By MONIKA DIAZ / WFAA-TV

GRAND PRAIRIE — There is no turning back for the young man who police say left his girlfriend to die in a crash this morning. All he can do now is surrender to authorities.

Jacquie Martinez, 19, leaves behind a son who is just one month old.

Police in Grand Prairie and across the state are looking for 19-year-old Esteban Baesa. He had been going out with Martinez for the past 10 months.

Martinez's family says Baesa called them this morning and told them "something happend to Jacquie." He then hung up the phone.

Baesa was still on the run Saturday night.

Jacquie Martinez called her mother, Amy Nanato, early Saturday morning to say she was on her way home, but she never made it.

"I don't even want to believe it," Nanato said. "I keep thinking she is still going to come home. She just had a baby."

Martinez lost her life on eastbound Interstate 30 in a violent crash near the 19th Street exit early Saturday morning. She was ejected from a 2003 Ford Expedition when it spun out of control, rolled over at least twice, and then landed on a concrete median.

The young mother was run over by at least three cars.

Investigators say Baesa was behind the wheel, but he and two other male passengers fled after the crash.

"This is somebody that you say you love. You leave her there to die? I just don't believe it," Nanato said. "I really just want to see him and ask him why. I want to know why he would leave her." Investigator said Baesa stopped by his house in Cockrell Hill after the crash; they believe he is now headed to Mexico.

Margarita Baesa told us she doesn't know where her son is. "I saw my son yesterday, but I did not see him last night," she said.

Martinez's family is overwhelmed with grief. They want Baesa behind bars.

"I don't want to wish evil on him. I want him to go to jail. I want to him live with the guilt, that could kill him alone.

Police arrested a 14 year old who was in Baesa's car near the scene. The boy is facing aggravated robbery for allegedly trying to steal a car belonging to a man who stopped at the crash to help. He apparently flashed a gun.
Baesa has a criminal history involving drugs and family violence. He is now facing charges for failing to stop and render aid. Wow I'm shocked.

If you have any information on Baesa's whereabouts, call your local police agency.

 

[TxTiger]

SUV Hits Southwest Lubbock Home

Posted: March 13, 2008 07:17 AM CDT

A Lubbock man remains behind bars Thursday evening, after he allegedly drove his SUV into two houses in southwest Lubbock late Wednesday night.

Police say Oscar Ray Ramirez, 22, of Lubbock left the road just after 11 p.m., and hit a house in the 5200 block of 90th Street, and he kept going until he also hit the house next door.

Ramirez was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. Police say his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit. They also cited him for failure to control speed, striking fixed objects and driving without insurance.

http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=8009465&nav=menu69_5

 

[Johnny99]

Drunken, Unlicensed, Uninsured, Illegal Beanager Kills One In Wreck​

Ramon Gutierrez Morales​

17-year-old charged with intoxication manslaughter in Far East Dallas crash​

10:13 PM CDT on Sunday, March 16, 2008
By MARISSA ALANIS / The Dallas Morning News
malanis@dallasnews.com

A 17-year-old who didn't have a driver's license was arrested on a charge of intoxication manslaughter after he crashed his car into another vehicle early Sunday, killing an 18-year-old man in Far East Dallas.

Ramon Gutierrez Morales of Dallas was speeding on North Buckner Boulevard near Ferguson Road about 3 a.m. when he struck a car carrying four people, according to a police report.

The impact killed German Pirchado, who was sitting in the second car's back seat, according to the Dallas County medical examiner's office.

The police report says Mr. Morales tried to run away, but a witness to the crash detained him until officers arrived. They smelled alcohol and found spilled beer inside his Crown Victoria, according to the report.

Mr. Morales and the driver of the second car, whose identity wasn't available, were taken to Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas to be treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.

Later, Mr. Morales was jailed, with bail set at $50,000. He also faces misdemeanor charges for not having insurance and driving without a license.
He has been flagged for immigration review because he may be living in the country illegally, according to the Dallas County Sheriff's Department.

Ernesto Rodriguez, the victim's brother-in-law, said Mr. Pirchado was a construction worker who was saving money to return home to the Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende.

He said Mr. Pirchado and his friends were returning home from a party when the accident happened.

"He didn't usually like to get out in the nighttime," Mr. Rodriguez said. "He didn't want to get in trouble or anything like that."

 

[LaKooneshia]

Bug-Eyed Spic Faces Murder Rap In 4th DUI

A Fort Worth man is facing murder charges after an alleged drunk driving accident.

Police say Ortega slammed into the back of a car Friday. Four-year-old Kaitlyn Sanchez was killed in the crash. The accident happened in the 100 block of south Loop 820.

Records indicate 32-year-old Marcial Jose Ortega has a history of DWI offenses. The first time Ortega was arrested for DWI was in February 1999. The next DWI arrest occurred a month later. For each of the first two offenses, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

In August 2002, Ortega's third DWI arrest earned him three years in jail.

Anti-drunk driving groups say they support filing murder charges rather than manslaughter in cases like this.

 

[TxTiger]

DWI Suspect Collides With Police Car, Runs

POSTED: 2:58 pm CDT March 17, 2008
UPDATED: 4:54 pm CDT March 17, 2008

GARLAND, Texas -- A man was charged Monday with driving under the influence after he collided with a police cruiser and then fled the scene on foot, Garland police said.

Police said the collision happened at about 11:15 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Glenbrook Drive and W. Avenue B.

The officer was responding to a call when Enrique Cordova, 30, ran a flashing red light signal and collided with the squad car, police said. A family that arrived on the scene moments later said Cordova started running away as they drove up to help. Police said the family followed Cordova and called 911 to report the collision.

When police arrived, Cordova was arrested and taken to the Garland Jail where he faced charges of driving while intoxicated and failing to stop and render aid.

Police said the officer involved in the collision was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released. A passenger who was in the truck with Cordova was also taken to the hospital and later released.

Cordova's bond was set at $5,500 for both of the cases, authorities said.

http://www.nbc5i.com/newsarchive/15621397/detail.html

 

[3 Ks]

Pablo Nails Bicyclist in Fatal Hit-and-Run
March 23, 2008

Greenville Police Department officers are investigating a reported hit-and-run collision that killed a bicyclist near the intersection of Charles Boulevard and Wall Street on Saturday, a police official said.

GPD spokesman Cpl. Kip Gaskins said a blue Chevrolet Camaro traveling north on Charles, and exceeding the speed limit, collided with the bicycle at 12:27 p.m.

A bicycle lies on Charles Boulevard
after an accident Saturday.

Gaskins said the Camaro continued north on Charles without stopping.

A witness to the collision recorded the license plate number of the Camaro and gave it to the police, who used the information to obtain a name and address, Gaskins said.

Officers attempted to make contact with the alleged driver, Pablo Delacruz, at 112 Rawl Road, Gaskins said.

Officers were unable to contact Delacruz at that address but were able to find out where he was and arrested him at a location on Portertown Road.

The victim was transported to Pitt County Memorial Hospital and died shortly after arrival, Gaskins said.

Identification of the victim was witheld pending notification of the family.

Delacruz, 19, was charged with felony hit and run.

 

[Rasp]

Drunken mestizo to be deported

DUI arrest may lead to deportation

A man arrested for DUI in Incline Village last week is being sent to a federal immigration court and may be deported, said an official with the US Immigration and Custom Enforcement.

Washoe County Sheriff's office deputies arrested Antonio Sandoval-Perez, 31, on Tuesday, March 18, for driving under the influence of alcohol, having an open alcohol container in the vehicle and driving without a license.

Once the native of Guatemala was booked at the Washoe County detention facility, his case was flagged for attention because of his illegal immigration status, said Washoe County Sheriff public information officer Deputy Brooke Keast.

At that point, Keast said an officer from ICE took Sandoval-Perez into custody.

Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for ICE, said the agent took Sandoval-Perez to Florence, Ariz. There he will await trial in front of an immigration judge. A trial date has not yet been set, according to Kice.

"Often what happens is that when an illegal immigrant offends and is in the justice system, local law enforcement alerts us," Kice said. "Our goal is to make sure offenders don't get back on the streets and do get deported when they break the law in this country."

 

[Rasp]

Illegal alien's crimes earned his time in prison

Several weeks ago, a Mexican citizen who was illegally in this country accidentally ran over a 3-year-old in the Anderson area. The case was very tragic, but it was clear that the incident was unintentional and not criminal.

However, the driver, later identified as Jose Alcantar-Ruiz, 39, was found to be in our country illegally. Before deciding what, if any charges should be filed, I met with the California Highway Patrol officer and the federal immigration officer who were investigating the case. I quickly determined that no criminal charges could be filed related to the death of the child given the circumstances. However, I learned that Alcantar-Ruiz was here illegally and that he had false documents. He was unemployed.

I also learned that this was not the first time Alcantar-Ruiz was in this country illegally. He had been formally deported twice before and contacted at least two other times by immigration officials since being deported the last time. I also learned that while in this country, Alcantar-Ruiz has been convicted of a felony possession of cocaine, criminal mischief, petty theft and harassment, all in southern Oregon.

I asked about having the federal government prosecute Alcantar-Ruiz, but I was told that state law carried a much greater penalty in this case. Based on these facts, I decided to file charges related to his illegal alien status that carried state prison as a consequence. The defendant has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced to 16 months in state prison. Under state law, that means he will serve eight months in state prison (not our local county jail). He will then be deported yet again.

Why file the charges and not just deport him? He is here illegally and possessed false documents to deceive us. That is a crime. While in this country, he has committed several crimes over a period of years. Because he was here when he was not supposed to be, a 3-year-old child is dead. My goal is to impose a consequence that will discourage him from returning to the United States illegally or at least Shasta County.

Regardless of how one feels about the illegal immigration issue, I think we all agree that we do not need illegal aliens from whatever country committing crimes against citizens in our country. This will be the longest sentence he has received thus far. The hope is that Alcantar-Ruiz will not return to Shasta County and commit crime that injures or victimizes any of our residents.

Jerry Benito is the Shasta County district attorney.

 

[Rasp]

Sentencing Friday in injury DUI case

Driver pleaded guilty, in country illegally

The man who severely injured a Napa woman while in the country illegally and driving without a valid license is slated to be sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to hit and run and a felony DUI.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Francisco Pacheco, 24, was drunk on Feb. 3 when his car barreled into the back of another vehicle on South Terrace Drive. Lilian Clark, who had just finished loading her two young sons into their car seats, was pinned between the cars. Doctors amputated her legs below the knees after the accident.

Pacheco faces as much as six years in prison as well as deportation to his native Mexico.

 

[TxTiger]

Man Wanted In Toddler's Hit-And-Run Death

POSTED: 10:10 am CDT April 15, 2008

ROSENBERG, Texas -- A man is wanted in connection with a toddler's hit-and-run death, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.

Fort Bend County sheriff's deputies said Thomas Soria Maldonado ran over 23-month-old Zitaly Rivera in the 3100 block of Blackwood Road at about 8 p.m. Friday.

Witnesses said Maldonado, 34, got out of his Chevrolet Blazer, saw what happened and ran away without helping Zitaly.

Zitaly's family took her to Oak Bend Hospital, where she died.

Investigators said Maldonado, also known as "Tico," has not been seen or heard from since the incident.

Maldonado is Hispanic, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 120 pounds with a beard and a mustache.

http://www.click2houston.com/newsarchive/15886836/detail.html

 

[Johnny99]

Bender Jailed For Extreme DUI​

YCSO: Man Arrested After Deputy Pursuit​

POSTED: 10:39 am MST April 18, 2008
UPDATED: 11:16 am MST April 18, 2008


CAMP VERDE, Ariz. -- A Camp Verde man was arrested Wednesday night, accused of driving under the influence and refusing to stop for deputies.

A deputy attempted to pull over a Dodge Neon driven erratically by Leonides Sanchez-Lopez, 31, near Beaver Creek Road and Interstate 17 around 9:15 p.m., the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said. The deputy said Sanchez-Lopez was swerving and nearly struck an oncoming vehicle.

Sanchez-Lopez refused to stop and nearly collided with Tribal police officers assisting in the pursuit, deputies said.

Sanchez-Lopez eventually pulled into a private driveway and was arrested without incident, YCSO said.

Deputies said Sanchez-Lopez had a .239 percent blood alcohol level, nearly three times the legal limit. He was charged with extreme DUI, driving on a suspended license and fleeing a pursuit.

He was also booked on four outstanding warrants, deputies said.

 

[ZKR]

Illegal Immigrants Charged in DWI Cases Test Judicial System

Smithfield, N.C. — Seven-year-old Marcus Lassiter won't see his eighth birthday. George Smith was on his morning commute to Duke University but never made it to work. Betty Coates might struggle with daily tasks for the rest of her life.

Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell sees a pattern among the cases of these victims of drunken driving: Each accused driver was in the United States illegally.

Bizzell pointed to Hipolito Hernandez, an illegal immigrant who faces second-degree murder charges in the hit-and-run that killed Marcus last Sunday.

"This case here is a prime example of the justice system letting the people down," Bizzell said.

Nearly 300 illegal immigrants were convicted on driving-while-impaired charges and placed in North Carolina prisons in 2007.

Hispanics also account for 18 percent of drunken-driving arrests, while making up less than 7 percent of the state’s population, according to a study from the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center aired in WRAL's documentary "Focal Point: Crossing the Line."

The study also showed that Hispanics involved in car crashes were 2.5 times more likely to be drunk than white drivers and three times more likely to be drunk than black drivers.

In the three cases listed above, each of the accused drunken drivers had extensive contact with the judicial system – but had managed to elude the immigration system until these incidents.

Hernandez, who originally gave an alias to police who arrested him Monday, had been charged with DWI four times. Those cases were either pending, dismissed on technicalities or reduced.

WRAL uncovered no evidence that immigration authorities ever detained Hernandez during those times in court.

"He (Hernandez) shouldn't be here to start with. But he is," Bizzell said. "He's violating the law. He's driving drunk. He's killing kids." Hernandez stands accused of murder in the case but has not been convicted of any charges.

Eblin Fabiel Ocampo Cruz, 22, was convicted in the wreck on Interstate 540 that injured Betty Coates on Oct. 25, 2007. An illegal immigrant, Cruz was charged with a DWI in 2006 and had been in court six times that year.

Ricardo Contreras-de la Torre had been deported from the U.S. twice before he plead guilty to DWI in the motor-vehicle death of 54-year-old George Alwyn Smith on June 4, 2007.

A new law, though, has begun changing the judicial process for those suspected of being illegal immigrants. When suspects are fingerprinted and processed in jail, their information is often cross-referenced with immigration records.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer on Hernandez. Cruz and Contreras-de la Torre will be deported when they finish their prison sentences – both set to no more than three years, thanks to plea deals.

Latino advocacy groups often urge the public to step back from the emotion over immigration and focus on the individual crimes.

Advocates admit that drunk driving is a problem within the Hispanic community and have aired public-service ads to combat the problem.

Drunk driving is also the No. 1 killer of young Hispanic men, according to the UNC study.

Bizzell said the tragedy is that deaths such as Marcus' and debilitating injuries such as Coates' are preventable.

"This isn't about race. This isn't about Mexico versus the United States," Bizzell said. "It's about a drunk Mexican that's illegal, driving drunk, no operator's license, stolen vehicle, killing a little 7-year-old boy."

 

[TxTiger]

Odessa Police Identify Fatal Hit and Run Suspect
(5-6-08)

ODESSA - Odessa Police have identified a suspect in the hit and run that left an Odessa woman dead over the weekend, but they need your help tracking him down.

Investigators say 19-year old Isaac Lopez of Midland was behind the wheel when his truck hit and killed 39-year-old Melissa Bustamante early Saturday morning.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Lopez.

When police catch up to him, he's facing manslaughter, and failure to stop and render aid charges.

Lopez is described as 5'9," 165 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

We're told he has tattoo across his stomach with the words thug nasty, and a tattoo on his left arm.

He was last seen in a tan Chevy extended cab pick-up.

http://www.kwes.com/Global/story.asp?S=8280878&nav=menu505_2

 

[TxTiger]

Suspect in deadly crash found in ABC-7 news unit

Posted: May 2, 2008 04:37 AM CDT

EL PASO, Texas - Hours after a deadly crash, a suspected drunk driver was found sitting in an ABC-7 News unit that was at the scene, covering the story.

An ABC-7 photographer was returning to the station vehicle after he filmed the scene. When he looked inside he found Marcelino Davila, 19, in the front passenger seat drinking his soda.

Authorities had not told the media they were searching for anyone in connection to the crash.

"I thought he was a homeless man, so I shook him and said 'hey man, what are you doing?'" ABC-7 photographer David Avila said.

Avila immediately told El Paso County deputies, who had been searching for Davila for more than three hours. Authorities arrested him and charged him with intoxicated manslaughter and being responsible for an accident Involving injury or death. According to police his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit to drive in Texas.

Davila, who lives in Las Cruces, was found around 2:45 a.m. Friday, but the crash happened just after 11 Thursday night. Police shut down Interstate 10 for five hours while they searched for Davila and cleaned up the scene.

According to investigators the crash happened on Interstate 10 near the New Mexico state line. Deputies said Davila lost control of the car and it rolled, landing in the median. A 29-year-old female passenger was trapped in the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Another 19-year-old female, who was seated in the back seat, suffered minor injuries.

http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=8260021&nav=AbC0

 

[Johnny99]

California Camel Lover Claims He's Loco​

SF Hit & Run Rampage Suspect Pleads Insanity​

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ― An East Bay man accused of running down more than a dozen people with a sport utility vehicle in an alleged hit-and-run rampage in San Francisco in 2006 pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity Monday to multiple felony charges.

Omeed Aziz Popal, 31, of Fremont, is accused of targeting 16 pedestrians during a 15-minute span on various city streets and sidewalks of northern San Francisco on the afternoon of Aug. 29, 2006.

The victims' injuries ranged from minor scrapes to one woman who suffered major injuries and is now a quadriplegic.

Popal has already pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of attempted murder, 16 felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one felony count of battery on a peace officer and one felony count of reckless evasion from police, according to prosecutors.

Asked today in San Francisco Superior Court if he wished to enter a not guilty by reason of insanity plea to all the charges, Popal responded, "Yes, your honor."

Popal's attorney Sandy Feinland said outside the courtroom that Popal has a "substantial documented history of severe psychiatric disorders.

"He was insane at the time he is alleged to have committed the acts charged," Feinland said.

According to Feinland, Popal was involuntary hospitalized for his condition twice in the six-month period before the incidents, and since his arrest, has remained in the San Francisco County Jail's psychiatric ward.

About a week after being found competent to stand trial in November 2006, San Francisco sheriff's deputies thwarted a suicide attempt by Popal, who reportedly tried to hang himself in his jail cell with his jail-issued sweatshirt.

Assistant District Attorney James Thompson today said he expected the insanity plea, but called Feinland's claims "an overstatement."

Popal's insanity claim would come into play if he is found guilty of any of the charges during a trial estimated to begin in late summer.

A guilty conviction would then bring a second trial in which a jury would have to decide whether Popal was insane at the time.

Though Popal confessed to police about the crimes after his arrest, his attorney and family contend he has a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and auditory command hallucinations.

The case is scheduled to return to court May 16 for a scheduling hearing and June 11 for the receipt of a court-ordered evaluation of Popal by a psychiatrist and a psychologist.

Popal is also awaiting trial in Alameda County on one count of murder for allegedly fatally striking 54-year-old Stephen Jay Wilson in a hit-and-run in Fremont about 45 minutes before the San Francisco attacks.

"We're hoping that if he's found not guilty by reason of insanity (in San Francisco) that the prosecutors in Alameda County would take that into strong consideration," Feinland said.