Next hearing for San Luis City councilwoman set

The next hearing in Yuma County Superior Court for the San Luis City councilwoman charged in connection to a hitand-run accident was scheduled on Thursday.

Appearing before Judge Roger Nelson, attorney Joshua Cordova asked that the court set a final trial management conference for his client.

Cordova represents Africa Luna-Carrasco, who has been charged with failure to remain at the scene of an accident and two counts of forgery, all of which are felonies.

Upon hearing no opposition from the prosecution, Judge Nelson scheduled Carrasco’s next hearing for 8:30 a.m. on June 9.

Carrasco, who appeared at the hearing out of custody, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

A vehicle belonging to the councilwoman, a 2012 Honda Accord, was involved in an accident at Avenue C and County 19th Street on Aug. 26, 2021 according to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office.

There were no injuries in the accident, but the driver of Luna-Carrasco’s car fled the scene.

Sheriff’s investigators contacted Luna-Carrasco at her home later in the day of the accident, YCSO said, and the councilwoman told them her car previously had been stolen.

San Luis police also interviewed Luna-Carrasco as part of the accident investigation, and stated that the councilwoman had not filed a stolen vehicle report.

Luna-Carrasco, who serves as the city’s vice mayor, was first elected to the council in 2010 and has been re-elected to successive terms.

However, her current term expires this year, and Luna-Carrasco did not file nominating petition signatures to appear on the ballot for re-election in the city’s primary election in August.