Trial set for Fairfield man in fatal hit-run
A Solano County Superior Court judge has set a July jury trial for a Fairfield man who allegedly fled a fatal hit-and-run collision that killed a 52-yearold bicyclist in October in Fairfield.
Judge John B. Ellis told Nadhir Muftah Ghuzi, 31, who appeared May 26 in Department 23, to return for trial at 9:30 a.m. July 5 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.
During the morning proceeding, the judge also scheduled some pretrial matters in the case. Ellis ordered Ghuzi and his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jeannette Garcia, to return for a readiness conference and a Trombetta motion at 8:30 a.m. June 22.
A Trombetta motion is filed by defense attorney when evidence was gathered in a case that was or might be helpful to the defendant and the evidence was destroyed or mishandled by the police or prosecutor.
Ghuzi, who remains in Stanton Correctional Facility in Fairfield without bail, also must return for a trial management conference at 8:30 a.m. June 30.
Court records show that, after a two-day hearing and a held-to-answer arraignment, Ghuzi, charged with first-degree murder and hitand-run causing a death, again pleaded not guilty to all counts, denied prior offenses and denied enhancements.
Deputy District Attorney Jessica Morrell leads the prosecution.
During a previous court appearance, Morrell told Judge William J. Pendergast, hearing the case at the time, that Ghuzi acknowledged the Watson Advisement at his previous DUI conviction.
If Ghuzi's acknowledgment is allowed, it will be a key part of Morell's prosecution during trial.
In California, all drivers 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.
In her client's defense, Garcia told Pendergast the bicyclist, Darryl L. Mitchell of Vallejo, “was not following the rules of the road,” riding without safety lights on the bike and riding in traffic the night he was struck and killed, Oct. 19.
Fairfield Police Department records show Ghuzi was arrested and booked into Solano County Jail on Oct. 20 on suspicion of firstdegree 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.
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 North Texas and Wisconsin streets.
Upon arrival, officers determined the bicyclist was dead.
A witness 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, 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.
As the investigation continued, “Alcohol impairment is considered to be a factor,” Jacobsen said.
He was uncertain if Ghuzi had acknowledged or understood the possible serious consequences after his previous conviction for DUI.