Mexican man pleads not guilty to manslaughter of California deputy
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Mexican man pleads not guilty to manslaughter of California deputy

100303arraign-lopez_t352SAN DIEGO SUPERIOR COURT — The man charged with causing the death of Deputy Ken Collier of the San Diego sheriff’s by driving the wrong way on state Route 52 had traveled from a bar in north Oceanside and was driving impaired for at least an hour, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Deputy District Attorney Damon Mosler said Jose Pedro Lopez Jasso was “remorseless” when he was stopped by police about a mile past where Collier’s car had crashed. Lopez believed he was on Interstate 5, near Carlsbad, the prosecutor said. Lopez, 22, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence causing death and drunken driving. He faces a maximum of 11 years in prison if convicted of all counts. San Diego Court Judge Joseph Brannigan set Lopez’s bail at 3/4 of a million dollars. Mosler said Lopez is a Mexican national who had been deported to Mexico on other occasions. Collier, who was killed when his patrol vehicle slammed into a concrete abutment on an overpass and slid down a ravine Sunday morning. He was traveling on the highway with a passenger, dispatcher Ryan Debellis, who reportedly needed a ride into work because his car was not working.

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