Suspect in deadly San Jose DUI crash that killed community officer Long Pham out on bail
San Jose officials including Mayor Matt Mahan are objecting to a judge's recent decision to release the suspect in a deadly DUI crash that killed a community service officer on bail.
The suspect, 44-year-old Juan Huerta-Palacios of Morgan Hill, is accused of being under the influence when he struck two San Jose community service officers who were doing traffic control on Monterey Rd. early last August.
Community Service Officer Long Pham died in the collision and Community Service Officer Veronica Baer was hospitalized for several days with serious injuries.
Pham was born in Vietnam, but raised from childhood in San Jose. He is survived by his parents and a brother. The community officer was honored in a public memorial held in late August.
Palacios was being held on half a million dollar bail for charges related to injuring Baer and killing Pham, including a murder charge based on previous convictions for alcohol related reckless driving.
The release has raised objections from San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office and the San Jose Police Department. The SJPD posted a statement on X Wednesday night protesting the release of Huerta-Palacios.
"Previous warnings to this defendant about the dangers of drunken driving did not prevent him from killing Long Pham. Why should we think that these restrictions adequately protect the public from his bad judgement again?" the statement read. "An officer is dead and the man who killed him was let out on bail to go home against our objection, against our community's objection."
"I strongly disagree with this decision. Both CSO Pham's family and our entire community deserve better - they deserve justice. This wasn't the first time this individual put members of our community in danger - and this time an innocent man lost his life," the mayor's statement read. "How do we know he won't do it again? It is irresponsible to release him before he faces a judge and jury."
