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Trial starts for driver accused of street racing, DUI in crash that killed Orange County Register editor

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A driver was street racing with a blood-alcohol content more than three times the legal limit when he caused the crash that killed a longtime Orange County Register editor two years ago, a prosecutor told jurors on Thursday, July 28.

Deputy District Attorney Brian Orue, in opening statements, said Louie Robert Villa, now 31, was speeding northbound on Bristol Street in Santa Ana while trying to catch up with another car when he slammed into a pickup truck driven by Gene Harbrecht, 67, who was making a left turn from southbound Bristol to eastbound Santa Clara Avenue about 11:40 a.m., on July 30, 2020.

Both Harbrecht and Villa were taken to UCI Medical Center, but Harbrecht died.

Harbrecht was a longtime editor of the Orange County Register, which is part of the Southern California News Group.

“He didn’t have to die,” Orue said. “If the defendant doesn’t drive at 11:40 a.m. at three times the legal limit, Gene is still here.”

A blood draw at UCI Medical Center about 45 minutes after the crash showed Villa’s blood-alcohol content at .26, Orue told the jury, later noting that Villa had a previous conviction for driving under the influence and had been warned about the dangers of drinking and driving.

  • Louie Robert Villa, left, is escorted in to court by the bailiff on the first day of his trial in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Villa has been charged with one felony count of murder while street racing and one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing great bodily injury while street racing in connection with the crash that killed Orange County Register editor Gene Harbrecht in 2020. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Orange County Register editor Gene Harbrecht died July 30, 2020, after the truck he was driving was struck by a sedan police say was racing another vehicle in Santa Ana. (Photo courtesy of the Santa Ana Police Department)

  • Louie Robert Villa, right, with his attorney Stacy Kelly at his side, lowers his head as a dashcam video is played from the day of the fatal crash during his trial in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Villa has been charged in connection with a street racing crash that killed who is charged in connection with a street racing crash that killed Orange County Register editor Gene Harbrecht on July 20, 2020. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Gene Harbrecht, a longtime editor for The Orange County Register and Southern California News Group, had a passion for Angels baseball and attended hundreds of regular season and spring training games. Harbrecht, 67, was killed in a crash Thursday, July 30, when his truck was hit by a speeding car, Santa Ana police said. (Courtesy of the Harbrecht family)

  • Public Defender Stacy Kelly gives her opening statement on the first day of trial for Louie Robert Villa in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana on Thursday, July 28, 2022 who has been charged in connection with a street racing crash that killed who is charged with murder in connection with a street racing crash that killed Orange County Register editor Gene Harbrecht on July 20, 2020. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Pat Harbrecht speaks during the launch of a nationwide anti-street racing campaign in Santa Ana, CA on Friday, April 29, 2022. Harbrecht is the widow of Gene Harbrecht, photo at left, a long-time Orange County Register editor who was killed when his car was broadsided by two illegal street racers in 2020. The public service announcement warns drivers of the dangers of illegal street racing and street takeovers. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Deputy District Attorney Brian Orue gives his opening statement on the first day of the trial of Louie Robert Villa who in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana on Thursday, July 28, 2022 who has been charged in connection with a street racing crash that killed who is charged with murder in connection with a street racing crash that killed Orange County Register editor Gene Harbrecht on July 20, 2020. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Louie Robert Villa appears in court for the first day of his trial in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Villa has been charged with one felony count of murder while street racing and one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing great bodily injury while street racing in connection with the crash that killed Orange County Register editor Gene Harbrecht in 2020. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The other driver, Ricardo Navarro Tolento, was arrested hours later with help from a witness who provided information about his car to police.

Villa faces charges of second-degree murder, driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, DUI with a blood alcohol level of .08% or more causing injury, and engaging in a speed contest. The DUI charges include enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury.

Tolento will face trial on vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run charges at a later date, Kimberly Edds, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, said this week.

Villa and Tolento were stopped at a red light on Bristol at 17th Street, taking off when the light phased to green. A surveillance camera caught Tolento’s black Infiniti leading, with Villa trying to catch up in a borrowed silver BMW, Orue said.

The prosecutor said jurors would hear evidence that Tolento drove about 77 miles per hour in a 45-mph zone and that Villa was traveling between 81 and 91 mph at the time the silver BMW crashed into the front passenger side of Harbrecht’s truck.

The force of the crash sent the Ford Ranger “flying,” he said, adding that the crash was completely avoidable.

“Mr. Villa made some ridiculously bad choices that put himself, other members of the community, and Eugene Harbrecht’s life in peril,” Orue said.

A motorist who was behind Villa at the light captured the race and the crash on his vehicle’s dashcam.

Villa’s public defender, Stacy Kelly, said Villa drove in fear for his safety after Tolento swerved into the middle lane in front of him. She told jurors Villa’s view of the roadway ahead was blocked by Tolento’s black Infiniti until the last few seconds before the crash.

“That’s when he saw the Ford Ranger,” she said. “He slammed on the brakes and did everything he could to avoid the collision.”

She said Villa was headed to visit a former boss to ask about the possibility of being re-hired after he had been laid off. She said he had been drinking, but did not think his driving would be affected by alcohol and that he “expected to get to his destination safely,”

She said the tragedy was devastating, but told jurors it did not amount to murder.

Villa told investigators at the hospital that he had only had one drink at about 2:30 a.m., Orue said.

In arguing for second-degree murder, Orue told jurors Villa had a prior DUI conviction in 2012 and was warned that if he drove drunk again and killed someone, he could be charged with murder. Orue said Villa had also attended a Mother’s Against Drunk Driving meeting where he was warned a second time about the dangers of drinking and driving.

Three witnesses and two Santa Ana officers who responded to the crash testified Thursday afternoon.

One of the witnesses, Adam Bendig, said he was cut off by Villa as he approached Bristol and Seventeenth. He also caught the race and the crash on his dashcam and provided it to police.

Luis Gonzalez testified he was visiting his friend, Guillermo Velasquez, on the driveway of a home on Santa Clara near Bristol Street when they heard screeching and a loud bang. After seeing the aftermath of the collision, Gonzalez testified that he kicked and punched through the windshield of the pickup truck and dragged Harbrecht out and away from the crash.

Velasquez testified he retrieved two water hoses to try to douse flames after the truck had caught fire.

Villa left his car and sat down on the front lawn of a nearby home, they testified.

Tolento continued northbound following the crash, but was found a short distance away and arrested hours later.

The trial resumes at 10 a.m. Friday and is expected to wrap up by the middle of next week, the attorneys said. It wasn’t known if Villa would testify.

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