Santa Rosa Man Ordered To Pay $177K In Restitution To Crash Victim's Wife

Press release from the Sonoma County Government:

July 29, 2021

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Defendant Jose Torres Leveron, 27 years old of Santa Rosa, was ordered to pay $177,112 in restitution following a Wednesday morning hearing in front of the Honorable Troye Shaffer at the Sonoma County Courthouse.

The hearing was held to address financial losses to the family of the decedent following a fatal traffic accident on Highway 101 north of Asti Road in February of 2020. One count of misdemeanor Vehicular Manslaughter was filed against the defendant after it was determined that he swerved off the road killing his passenger, 32-year-old Guillermo Garcia Garcia of Santa Rosa. Torres Leveron pled no contest to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in October 2020 and was sentenced in December of 2020 to serve 2 months in jail and the statutory maximum of one year on probation. Restitution, which is required to be paid by criminal defendants under California’s Marsy’s Law, was reserved pending Wednesday’s hearing.

Following the hearing, the court ordered that the restitution be paid to the victim’s wife, Diana, after the District Attorney’s Office presented evidence that she relied on Guillermo for financial support.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorneys Kyle McCauley and Keren Freeberg. The California Highway Patrol headed the investigation.

This press release was produced by the Sonoma County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.