A Ramona man who pleaded guilty to driving drunk and causing a fiery, head-on crash on State Route 67 that killed a recent college graduate will spend the next several years in prison.
Roy Dunkin, 51, pleaded guilty two months ago to gross vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence in the Aug. 20 crash that claimed the life of Lucas Riley, 24.
On Friday, in a courtroom packed with Riley's loved ones, a judge handed down the maximum sentence to Dunkin in his case: 11 years and 8 months behind bars.
Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright said Dunkin will serve 5 years and 10 months of that sentence, per the way the law is set up. He has 76 days of credit from his time in jail.
Bright said the San Diego District Attorney's Office working to get DUI legislation changed, making it a top priority.
"It shocks me. Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated is considered a serious felony, but not a violent felony; whereas DUI causing injury is considered both serious and violent," Bright said. "So what does that mean? That means that if you kill someone under the influence, you’ll actually spend less time in prison than if you injure them."
On Aug. 20, as Dunkin drove his large GMC truck on SR-67, he had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .16 to .18 in his system, about two times the legal limit, Bright said.
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Dunkin had been celebrating at his granddaughter's first birthday earlier in the day, where he had several beers. At Friday's sentencing hearing, Bright also revealed that 170 full beers were found in Dunkin's truck.
As he drove, Dunkin ran through a stop light but kept going. He hit another car, injuring three people, and continued to drive on SR-67.
Then, Dunkin veered across the road and plowed head-on into Riley’s Mini Cooper, trapping Riley inside the vehicle. The impact from the collision set the Mini Cooper on fire.
"[Riley] literally had no chance," said Bright.
The young man died at the scene.
On Friday, Riley's family told reporters Riley was in Ramona that day checking out a part for his car that he found in an ad on Craigslist. Typically, they said Riley was never really in that part of town.
Riley was a recent graduate of San Diego’s Point Loma Nazarene University – a talented art major whose work is on display at the Cedar Street Parking Garage in Little Italy.
He was also engaged to be married. After his tragic death, his fiancée told NBC 7 Riley was a loving, caring man. She begged the public: “Please don’t drink and drive, please.”
Bright, who has handled deadly DUI cases in San Diego for the past 10 years, said this case was one of the hardest ones she's ever worked on.
Bright said there were 260 pages of victim impact statements turned in by the Riley's family and friends -- about twice the volume she typically sees for high-profile cases like this.
"The letters and statements in court by the family were so heartwrenching, and so heartfelt -- their devastation so pure," said Bright.
Riley's father, Mark Riley, said his family wants to see serious changes made to the law when it comes to deadly DUI crashes like the one that took his son's life.
"We have a cultural problem, so what has to happen, is the law has to be put in perspective with what is happening," Mark told NBC 7. "These are murders. These are not accidents. These are willful incidents. Unfortunately, they keep happening."
Mark said Dunkin "had a loaded gun" when he drove drunk that day, and by having 170 beers in his truck.
He said the Riley family, who lives in Hawaii, will work to help other families impacted by deadly DUI crashes.
"We will certainly take an opportunity to punctuate what our son's murder means and how it will hopefully help with legislation," the grief-stricken father added. "You can't replace a life, you can't replace what this means by any sort of penalty or consequence."
Riley's mother, Tami, and his older brother, Cory, were also in San Diego Friday for Dunkin's sentencing hearing.
Tami told NBC 7 Riley was the youngest of her three children, and leaves behind Cory and a sister.
"He was well-loved in our family – he was the baby," said Tami. "His life touched so many people. He was loved by so many."
"Lucas was sort of innately kind," Cory added. "I would tell him things that I did wrong, or we would get in a fight, and he was bizarrely forgiving. That is one of the biggest attributes of my brother. And his acceptance of all people."
Last month, on Oct. 15, Tami came to San Diego from Hawaii to unite with other mothers for the Walk Like MADD 5K. At that time, Tami told NBC 7 she had to come out to join the fight against drunk driving.
“It’s still very emotional,” Tami told NBC 7, fighting back tears. “We’ve all been devastated by this crash. It’s necessary to make it public knowledge. As a family, we want to help the problem [of drunk driving] down here.”
On the same day as the Walk Like MADD 5K in San Diego, DUI suspect Richard Sepolio, a 24-year-old active duty U.S. Navy sailor stationed in Coronado, drove his car off the Coronado Bridge ramp, plunging into a large crowd attending festival in Chicano Park, which sits below the bridge in Barrio Logan. The suspected DUI crash killed four people.
That night, as San Diego mourned the victims of the Chicano Park crash at a memorial, Tami was there. She told NBC 7 she had to be there to show support for the victims and their families and demand an end to the vicious cycle of deadly DUI crashes.
Dunkin did not address the court at his sentencing hearing but his daughter, Nicole Dunkin, and a family friend spoke on his behalf. Nicole said her father had been having a very difficult time in his personal life after the suicide of his son two years ago, which led him to use alcohol.
