Oroville man sentenced to life in prison for vehicular manslaughter of Yuba City cousins

OROVILLE – The intoxicated man who hit and killed a pair of cousins on Highway 70 in November was sentenced Friday to life in prison, with possibility of parole in 16 years.

Before the sentence was handed down by Judge Clare Keithley, the court heard several emotional victim impact statements from family members of the deceased, Ryan Jensen, 18, and Mason Oakes, 20, of Yuba City.

Facing a photograph on canvas showing Jensen and Oakes smiling, standing side by side surrounded by trees, parents and grandparents painted a portrait of the two – describing them as “larger than life,” communityoriented, kind young men who shared a tight bond.

Their lives were cut short about 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 19 when Marc Andrews, 47, of Oroville failed to stop or slow down at a stop sign headed westbound on Palermo Road, colliding into Jensen and Oakes, who were traveling south in a sedan on Highway 70.

Andrews’ blood-alcohol content level at the time was .31, about four times above the legal limit, with his speedometer reading 100 mph seconds before the crash. He had two prior convictions for driving under the influence and was set to graduate from an 18-month DUI course the next day.

A probation report filed March 29 recommended that Andrews be denied probation and committed to state prison to serve a life sentence with a minimum parole eligibility of 16 years. Keithley said she intended to follow that recommendation but would hear victim impact statements first.

She said the court had also received and considered a letter submitted by Andrews, along with letters attached in support of him.

Jessica Oakes said her son and nephew were dressed in suits on the way from attending a church Mason Oakes and Ryan Jensen

service in Quincy when they were hit and killed. Her son had returned home from a church mission trip in Buenos Aires just 12 days before looking “taller, handsome and (in need of) his mom’s cooking.”

“He was full of adventure and fun, like always,” Oakes said.

The family was looking forward to getting together for Thanksgiving in a few days. When home, he gave his mother a kiss on the cheek each night. On the way to the service on Nov. 19, Mason sent a text message to his mother, letting her know they had gotten on the road. That would be the last time she would hear from him.

She said both young men had much to look forward to. They were hardworking and had saved for college, with plans to attend Brigham Young University-idaho and room together.

“If all young men were like Ryan and Mason, what a wonderful world it would be,” Oakes said.

Scott Petersen, Ryan’s grandfather, said the loss of the two young men felt like a “black hole.” He said the city had planted two redwood trees in honor of them and planned to install a bench, too.

As a toddler, Ryan ran into everything – people, chairs, you name it, thus earning the nickname “Rhino,” he said.

“That’s the way he lived his life ... facing things head-on,” Petersen said.

His grandson was a mechanic and loved making things. One

time, he got it into his head that he would make his own scuba diving gear and test it out in the ocean. His family convinced him that a pool might be a better testing location.

“Surprising no one, (the equipment) worked,” Petersen said.

Ryan also loved the outdoors. He and his cousin were both Eagle Scouts. Once, Ryan tried to convince his grandpa to take a hiking trip with him with minimal supplies. Petersen agreed but had to coax him into bringing sleeping bags.

“(He was) the most skilled outdoorsman I’ve ever known,” Petersen said.

An accident prevented him from pursuing his dream of becoming a Navy SEAL. Ryan suffered from permanent eye damage after shooting a blow dart at a bottle. The dart ricocheted and hit him in the eye. After that, no branch of the military would accept him, his grandfather said.

He was a little lost then, but Mason helped give him direction and his family was thankful for that, Petersen said.

With all of the facts of the case considered, Andrews should not receive the minimum sentence, he said. He urged the court to not minimize the lives of Mason and Ryan. Petersen said the case should be a lesson to not sit back and watch, but to intervene when necessary, as someone should have stopped Andrews before he got behind the wheel.

Marie Jensen, grandmother to Ryan and Mason, said that the two were “best buddies,” despite their age difference of about two years. They were just “on the cusp” of manhood and would have been wonderful fathers and husbands, Jensen said.

Ryan really missed Mason while he was away on his mission trip and the two hardly left each other’s side once Mason returned home, she said.

“Our whole family has been devastated,” Jensen said.

She said that about 1,400 people attended the joint funeral, a display of how many lives they each touched.

When people ask her how she feels about the man who killed her grandchildren, Jensen says there is not room for emotion beyond grief. She tries to follow Jesus’ example and love and forgive, but that’s hard to do sometimes, she said.

Jensen said she was in favor of stricter penalties for drunken drivers. With Andrews off the street, it might prevent someone from suffering the same tragedy, she said.

“It’s a lose-lose situation, such a waste, that didn’t have to be,” Jensen said.

Bob Jensen, the young men’s grandfather, said there needs to be a greater deterrent against this type of crime.

“We’ve got to do better,” Jensen said. “We can’t let them be on the street. Mason and Ryan are going to be a hole in our family forever. How will we replace that? We never will.”

Andrea Jensen, Ryan’s mother, said it was difficult to describe her son because he was “larger than life.” Jensen said her son taught her about the deepest kind of love.

From an early age, Ryan loved animals, his mother said. She remembered him catching bugs and sleeping with them in a jar on his chest.

A little later, he wanted a snake. Jensen told him that he would have to save up for it on his own, thinking that would hold him off. It didn’t work. He helped his grandparents with chores and gradually increased his savings.

“That’s when I learned how goal-oriented he was,” she said.

Next, Ryan wanted a dog – which his mom was, again, not sure about, but he swayed her by saving money and researching breeds. He even drew up a contract, stating which responsibilities he would take on, as far as training and caring for it. What’s more, Ryan followed through. They adopted a black Labrador and named him Jinx.

“The excitement of having a new pet didn’t wear off,” Jensen said.

Her son had an entrepreneurial spirit. He started a lawn mowing businesses at age 11. He then started producing paper wallets, even hiring a few of his classmates to help sell them.

Ryan had a sense of humor. When he learned that he might lose his eye after his shooting accident, he talked about how “cool” it would be to play pranks on people by popping out a fake eye.

At the funeral, several of Ryan’s friends told Jensen that they looked up to her son, who would often encourage them to ride bikes or go on another adventure instead of going out drinking. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t.

He was confident and wasn’t afraid of looking silly, like when he joined his sister as her “running buddy” for the Girls on the Run program, clad in a sparkly headband and pink shirt, which was customary for the running buddies to wear.

His brothers and sister are taking the loss hard, in different ways, including loss of motivation at school. Jensen struggles with an irrational fear of car travel. While no sentence will help them, Andrews should be held accountable, she said.

“For me, his death is a shock I’m still grappling with,” Jensen said. “Unfortunately, all of us are facing a sentencing.”