Local News in Brief : Drunk Driver Gets Life
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A convicted drunk driver was sentenced Monday to 30 years to life in prison for killing two young mothers in a 1986 traffic collision in Torrance.
Manuel D. Edmondson, 40, will be eligible for parole in 15 years, after receiving the maximum sentence from Torrance Superior Court Judge Douglas McKee.
The Los Angeles man was convicted in June on two counts of second-degree murder for the 1986 deaths of Ann Buchholz, 30, and Mary Frangie, 28. Witnesses testified that Edmondson was speeding and driving erratically before he ran a red light and slammed into cars driven by the two victims. His blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.15 two hours after the accident. The legal limit is .10.
In a letter to the judge, Edmondson said he did not consider himself a murderer.
“You may not, but I do,” McKee responded.
Defense attorney Peter L. Knecht said Edmondson’s conviction should be reduced to vehicular manslaughter because there is no evidence that he acted with malice. Edmondson will be free on $25,000 bail pending an appeal.
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