Further proceedings set for Fairfield man accused of murder, hit-and-run, and DUI
Further legal proceedings were set Wednesday for a Fairfield man charged with hitting and killing a 53-year-old Fairfield man on a bicycle Oct. 19 in Fairfield and then fled the scene.
Nadhir Muftah Ghuzi appeared for further arraignment in the case during the afternoon session in Department 11, where Judge William J. Pendergast ordered him to return at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 2 for further arraignment and a plea in the Justice Center in Fairfield, according to court records.
It was unclear from online court records if Ghuzi, who turned 31 on the day of the colliison and was previously convicted of DUI, had yet entered a plea or was possibly considering his entering a guilty plea to several charges in the case. He was represented by the Solano County Public Defender during his court appearance.
Fairfield Police Department records show he was arrested and booked into Solano County Jail at 12:38 a.m. Oct. 20 on suspicion first-degree murder; DUI causing bodily injury; having a blood-alcohol level greater than the legal limit of .08 percent; a probation violation for a previous DUI conviction; and hit-and-run causing death or injury, all felonies.
Ghuzi remains in Solano County Jail without bail.
The Solano County Coroner Friday afternoon said the victim’s name, after nine days, could not be released until next of kin had been notified.
Lt. Jausiah Jacobsen, the police department’s public information officer, said dispatchers received a 7 p.m. report about a collision between a vehicle and a bicyclist near the intersection of North Texas and Wisconsin streets.
Upon arrival, officers determined the bicyclist was dead and gave only his age and city of residence.
A witness, however, was able to provide a description of the vehicle, and investigators began searching the city’s surveillance camera systems as the department’s Traffic Unit took over the investigation as the evening progressed, said Jacobsen.
“Ultimately, they were able to find the suspect vehicle” using the department’s license plate reader system, identifying it as a Nissan SUV and identifying the driver through surveillance camera footage from a local business, he added.
Obtaining search and arrest warrants for the suspect, investigators spotted the vehicle later in the evening at a residence. They seized the vehicle and arrested Ghuzi.
The investigation continues and “alcohol impairment is considered to be a factor,” Jacobsen said.
He was uncertain if Ghuzi had acknowledged — or understood — the “Watson Advisement” after his previous conviction for DUI.
In California, all drivers who are convicted of DUI face certain mandatory sentencing requirements, among them the Watson Advisement, which, after a DUI court case leading to a conviction, allows murder charges to be brought in subsequent fatal DUI collisions when certain conditions have been met.