Warrant issued in fatal car crash
A warrant was issued for the 49-year-old man charged in connection with a March collision that happened near Somerton and killed another driver, after the attorney who represents him explained to the court why his client was not present for the hearing.
Attorney Jerry Hernandez of the Yuma County Public Defender’s Office explained that his client is currently in federal custody and being held on a new illegal re-entry charge and for a violation of his supervised release, which is out of California.
Hernandez represents Jose Luis Tapia-Fierro, who has been charged with second-degree murder as a result of the crash, which happened in the area of County 14th Street and Avenue G.
Hernandez told Superior Court Judge David Haws that he thinks the federal charges against Tapia-Fierro will need to be resolved before he can be prosecuted on any state charges.
“I do not anticipate that Tapia-Fierro will be here any time soon, because it usually takes the feds a while to handle these types of matters,” Hernandez said.
After hearing Hernandez’s explanation, Haws decided the best course of action was to issue a warrant for Tapia-Fierro’s arrest, which ensures he would remain in custody once the federal charges are adjudicated.
According to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, at approximately 3:10 a.m. on Friday, March 31, 2017, the sheriff’s office received a report of a vehicle collision in the area of County 14th Street and Avenue G, near Somerton, and deputies responded to the area.
The initial investigation revealed that a blue 1998 Ford van was northbound on Avenue G when the vehicle was struck by a black 2012 Nissan pickup traveling westbound on County 14th Street.
The Nissan pickup had failed to stop at the posted stop sign on County 14th Street and Avenue G. The driver of the Ford van was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Nissan pickup, Tapia-Fierro was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center for non-life threatening injuries. Tapia-Fierro was later taken into custody and was booked into the Yuma County Detention Center on charges of second-degree murder with a $250,000 cash-only bond.