A former LAPD officer accused of slamming another vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol, killing all passengers – accusing him of pleading guilty to three counts Friday, prosecutors said.
According to the LA County Lawyer’s Office, 34-year-old Edgar Versco pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and one count of driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08%.
He faces three simultaneous conditions of 15 years of living in a state prison, and is facing three years of concurrent period, officials said.
Verdusco of Santa Ana was arrested in April 2018. Authorities were arrested about seven months after authorities said they had spanned the Chevy Camaro to the back of Nissan when they got drunk south on Whittier’s 605 highway.
The off-duty Verduzco was driving at a speed of 150 mph, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Nissan fell into flames. Three residents – Mario Davira, 60; his wife, Maribel Davira, 52; son, Oscar Davira, 19, died in a car.
Verduzco’s vehicle continued, struggling with a second car, causing the driver, mother and baby to be injured in the car seat, authorities said.
A few hours before the crash, Verduzco is said to have posted an Instagram video from a bar with the message “#dontdrinkanddrive.”
In 2019, Verduzco pleaded not guilty to murder charges resulting from crash and related crimes. He was a police officer at the time of crash, but has since been released from duties, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
“As a police officer, Verduzco knew that driving recklessly under the influence of alcohol at 150 mph is extremely dangerous to human life and could lead to the death of an innocent victim, as tragically did in this case,” La County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a statement.
“Oscar Davila, a beloved student at UC Riverside, was only 19 years old and his life and his parents’ lives were taken away in an instant,” he continued. “My support and sympathy reach the Davila family’s loved ones, including Oscar’s four surviving brothers.”
Verduzco is scheduled to be sentenced July 11 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown LA
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