Ex-Con Pleads Guilty Thursday to Fleeing Paradise Hills Fatal Accident Scene

SAN DIEGO - An ex-con who fled after he struck a man retrieving an umbrella from his parked car on a stormy day in Paradise Hills pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of hit-and-run causing death.

James Arthur Robbins -- who has two prior robbery convictions -- faces between eight and 10 years in state prison for causing the Jan. 19 death of Jose Padron.

Sentencing is set for May 4.

While the 49-year-old victim was reaching into the driver's side of the car on Albemarle Street, Robbins' vehicle crossed over a double-yellow line and struck Padron, according to Deputy District Attorney David McNees.

No one apparently witnessed the crash, but Robbins' girlfriend came home to her nearby residence and noticed damage to her car after letting the 47- year-old defendant use it, the prosecutor said.

The girlfriend called police, but Robbins took off and was on the run for about a month before being arrested.

By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock