Man Pleads Guilty To Killing 3 Girls In Halloween Hit-And-Run
SANTA ANA (CBS/AP) — A 32-year-old Orange man has pleaded guilty to three counts of vehicular manslaughter in the hit-and-run deaths of three trick-or-treaters last Halloween.
Jaquinn Ramone Bell entered the plea Friday in Orange County Superior Court.
A statement from the Orange County District Attorney's Office says Bell had faced more serious charges in the Oct. 31, 2014, incident, but a state Supreme Court ruling in an unrelated case forced prosecutors to reduce the charges.
Bell, who faces a maximum penalty of nearly 14 years in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced May 21.
Bell drove through a crosswalk going 60 mph and struck three 13-year-old girls -- twin sisters Lexandra and Lexi Huerta Perez and their friend Andrea Gonzalez -- before fleeing.
He was arrested Nov. 2 after police found his damaged car abandoned in a parking lot.
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