Jury to begin deliberations in alleged street racing case that killed Bakersfield grandmother

Mar. 14—It all hinges on what's considered callous, attorneys argued during closing arguments Tuesday in a murder trial.

Prosecutor Cole McKnight said Ronald Pierce Jr. and Israel Maldonado knew that speeding more than 100 mph in southwest Bakersfield would lead to a collision, which killed Bakersfield grandmother Maria Navarro, 58. Her two young grandchildren were also injured in a car heading north on Old River Road near Ming Avenue when Pierce's Mustang slammed into Navarro, flinging her across the divided median and into a truck.

The outcry over street racing had been steadily rising but Navarro's death caused those emotions to crest and prompted a petition asking Bakersfield police to tamp down on the crime.

But defense attorneys for both men, who have been on trial for seven weeks, argued during closing arguments that there are alternative explanations for their clients' actions.

Pierce — who had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit — attempted to veer away from the crash, his defense attorney, David Torres, argued. Torres sought a voluntary manslaughter or a gross vehicular manslaughter verdict because he said his client's actions don't amount to prosecutors' contention of second-degree murder.

Maldonado isn't a callous man by nature, and what happened in November 2019 wasn't a street race, defense lawyer Tony V. Lidgett argued for his client. And, his client is the only one who called 911 after the collision, which indicates Maldonado attempted to help and wasn't cold-hearted, Lidgett argued.

Lidgett sought an acquittal of every charge Maldonado faces: second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and two charges of reckless driving.

The prosecution

Prosecutor McKnight said Pierce climbed into his red Mustang after drinking excessive amounts of alcohol at Firehouse. He added Pierce chose to race Maldonado by going 130 mph with a 0.24 BAC.

"That's about as callous as it gets," McKnight said.

And Maldonado started the street race by spinning his tires in place on Old River Road when both he and Pierce were stopped at a red light. His brake lights flashed in a video played for jurors, which shows Maldonado hesitated while speeding up to 105 mph but still chose not to stop, McKnight added.

That video — which was footage from Pierce's own dashboard camera — showed him laughing while speeding past Maldonado, McKnight added.

"He killed a woman and forever changed a family and he did not care," the prosecutor said.

"If either one of them hadn't made the choices they made that day," McKnight said. "... Maria (Navarro) doesn't die."

The defense

A key part of Pierce's defense is found five seconds before the crash, explained his attorney, Torres.

Torres teased apart those scant seconds, down to tenths of a second, to show Pierce attempted to swerve away from Navarro in his Mustang, which implied he didn't act with malice.

An eyewitness, Jamey Miller, testified about the crash — her words answer "one question that nobody has been able to answer this entire case" and show Pierce didn't act with malice, Torres said.

How is it possible the Mustang turned left when the car's data show Pierce attempted to veer right, Torres asked.

That's because Maldonado's truck "nipped" or "nicked" Pierce's Mustang, Miller testified, according to Torres.

Miller's initial statements to police were consistent: Maldonado's black Ford truck clipped Pierce. Even 20 days before Miller was set to testify, Torres said, he sent a private investigator to ask Miller if she stood by her statements. Torres said her story remained the same.

But when Miller testified during this trial, she said something quite different, Torres said.

"I was completely shocked," Torres said.

Still, Miller consistently told police Maldonado hit Pierce, Torres said.

There was damage to Pierce's Mustang, Torres claimed, which supports this evidence.

Prosecutors' theory about Maldonado's callous nature because he left the scene without stopping doesn't hold up, Lidgett said of client Maldonado.

The U.S. Army veteran didn't want his then-girlfriend to see the wreckage. There were also many people around Navarro, Lidgett said — it looked like there was already help at the scene and therefore his client didn't think to stay.

Maldonado and his girlfriend went to a planned dinner afterward and to Target to buy a pregnancy test, Lidgett said. That's not evidence of callousness — as prosecutors said — because both were planned acts and dinner was a quiet and somber event.

The scenario wasn't a race — it only happened because Pierce went too fast, Lidgett said. He contends there was no damage to Pierce's car and his client didn't strike the Mustang.

The attorney played dash camera videos from Pierce's car showing him crossing into opposite lanes the day before Navarro died.

"He is a bad driver," Lidgett explained.

Miller, the witness, got many facts completely wrong when talking to Bakersfield police about what happened, which shows she's an unreliable witness, he implied.

"She's not trying to lie, or anything of that nature," Lidgett said. "But everything happened so quickly."

Prosecutor McKnight posed to jurors in his rebuttal arguments that it doesn't matter if Maldonado clipped Pierce — all the choices both drivers made that caused Navarro to die happened before the supposed hit.

Pierce even admitted to being drunk and saying he doesn't care, according to McKnight.

"If they make the right choices, Maria Navarro doesn't die that day," McKnight said. "But they didn't ... Maria paid for it with her life."

Jury deliberations are slated to begin Wednesday.

You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.