Jury Selection Set For Trial Of DUI Offender Accused Of Causing Fatal CV Crash

MURRIETA, CA — Jury selection is slated to get underway Thursday in the trial of a convicted DUI offender accused of causing a multi-vehicle wreck while intoxicated in Coachella that killed a young man and seriously injured his brother.

Antonio Tellez Leon, 41, of Coachella is charged with second-degree murder, four counts of driving under the influence causing great bodily injury and one count of driving on a suspended driver's license for the 2023 collision that claimed the life of 21-year-old Jacob Snellings, also of Coachella.

Pretrial motions began Thursday after the case was transferred from the Larson Justice Center in Indio to the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, where Riverside County Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson is scheduled Thursday morning to summon several panels of prospective jurors for screening as to their availability and qualifications.

Leon is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Benoit Detention Center.

According to a trial brief filed by the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, Leon pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor DUI in March 2023 and was admonished by the court regarding the dangers of driving under the influence before he was formally placed on probation for causing a hit-and-run collision in Palm Desert six months earlier.

Roughly nine weeks after his plea, Leon allegedly joined his girlfriend, identified in court records only as "Dalila," at her residence for an afternoon of drinking wine on June 6, 2023, according to the brief.

The defendant additionally consumed methamphetamine, court papers alleged.

He left the woman's home and headed for his own shortly after 8 p.m. According to the prosecution, Leon accelerated to speeds beyond the posted limit along Avenue 51 in Coachella, resorting to driving in the center median when he encountered a line of traffic ahead of him.

A sheriff's community services officer happened to be driving westbound as the defendant sped by her eastbound in his BMW 325, and she stopped to turn around to follow him, but before she could complete the turn, "a cloud of dust" on Avenue 51 at Chiapas Drive appeared amid the sounds of a crash, the brief said.

The officer immediately requested assistance, bringing several patrol units to the location, as well as fire department paramedics.

They found Leon sitting on the curb, unable to hold his head up and slurring his speech, complaining that he'd had a "long bad day and wanted to sleep at home ... and that he could be taken to jail in the morning," the brief stated.

The defendant's BMW had smashed into the passenger side of a Toyota Camry driven by 19-year-old David L. Snellings of Coachella, prosecutors said. The motorist had suffered significant injuries and was taken in stable condition to nearby Desert Regional Medical Center for treatment. His older brother, Jacob, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A Jeep Cherokee and Honda Civic sustained minor to moderate damage in the wreck, but the vehicles' occupants did not require hospitalization, according to the brief.

"The defendant (acknowledged to deputies at the scene) he just barely received a DUI conviction and was not supposed to be driving," the narrative said. "The defendant incorrectly placed his location he was standing in. He also claimed he `(expletive) up' and that he knew he would be in trouble for the traffic collision and should not have been driving."

Leon suffered a minor leg injury and was taken to Desert Regional for treatment and an examination.

Deputies wrote in their reports that he was giving off a "strong odor of alcohol" and admitted finishing off a bottle of wine with his girlfriend that day, the brief said.

Blood and breathalyzer screenings indicated that he had a blood alcohol concentration of .89, court papers alleged. The legal limit to operate a motor vehicle in California is .08. Tests further revealed "amphetamines in his system," the brief said.

Leon told deputies during questioning that he couldn't recall anything about the collision, except that a "blue car had stopped in front of him," according to the document.

"The defendant also stated he was distracted during the collision because he was on his cell phone with Dalila," the brief said.

David Snellings ultimately recovered from his injuries.