Man gets 15 years to life in fatal crash

NORWALK » A Whittier man with a prior DUI conviction was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in state prison after unsuccessfully trying to withdraw his plea to murder and DUI charges stemming from a deadly crash in Norwalk.

Austin Hunter Redden, now 24, pleaded guilty just over a year ago, but began an effort soon afterward to withdraw his plea after replacing his lawyer with another attorney who contended that the defendant had received ineffective assistance of counsel.

The case stems from the May13, 2019, death of 20-year-old Jacob Scianni of Whittier, a passenger in the SUV Redden was driving.

Deputy District Attorney Brittany Vannoy told a judge Redden was speeding between 78 and 82 mph in a 35 mph zone when he struck the center divider, lost control of the SUV that crashed into a parked tow truck and flipped over. It happened at Rosecrans and Funston avenues.

Scianni, who was in the back seat, was thrown from the SUV and died at the scene. Two other passengers in the car were seriously injured.

The prosecutor contended that Redden was traveling at an “extreme” speed in a populated area and that he was using nitrous oxide while he was driving and had previously been warned that he could be charged with murder if someone was killed in a DUI-related crash.

Redden had a March 2017 conviction for DUI in Los Angeles County, along with a pending DUI case in Orange County at the time of the crash, according to the prosecutor.

Redden's new attorney, Andrew Stein, countered, “Pleading someone to life on these facts is unheard of.”

Stein — who indicated an appeal — called it a “very defensible” case.