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Man To Stand Trial In DUI Crash That Killed Woman, 24
April 18, 2009SAN DIEGO -- Alan Lester Mabrey, an alleged drunken driver accused of killing a female pedestrian in a Pacific Beach crosswalk, then going to Burger King before returning to the scene, was ordered Friday to stand trial on second-degree murder and other charges.
Alan Lester Mabrey, who has six prior drunken driving convictions from Colorado and Texas, is charged in the Feb. 7 death of 24-year-old Emily Cathleen Dowdy.
After a two-day preliminary hearing, Judge Michael Wellington ordered Mabrey, 45, to stand trial on charges of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, hit-and-run causing death, DUI causing death and driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or higher causing death.
Mabrey's blood-alcohol level was measured at .22 percent -- nearly three times the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle -- about 90 minutes after the accident, said Deputy District Attorney Patty Herian.
If convicted, Mabrey faces 15 years to life in prison on the murder charges and an additional seven to nine years on the other counts, according to the prosecutor.
A trial date could be set on May 6, when Mabrey is due to be arraigned in Superior Court.
San Diego police Officer Blake Cheary testified that he arrived on the scene about an hour after the 7:20 p.m. accident and overheard Mabrey talking to another officer.
Cheary said Mabrey admitted driving the Dodge truck and knowing that he hit someone. Mabrey also said he walked into the roadway to check on the victim, then went into a nearby Burger King to "get a burger," the officer testified.
Another officer testified that Mabrey told him that "when he gets nervous, he gets hungry."
Mabrey allegedly had been drinking at a nearby bar when he got into the driver's seat of his friend's truck and drove a short distance on Reed Avenue before stopping at a light at Mission Boulevard.
The defendant struck the victim as he tried to make a left turn onto Mission, according to testimony.
Dowdy suffered massive head injuries and was declared brain dead 24 hours later.
Witness Jonathan Anderson testified Thursday that he arrived on the scene shortly after the accident and Mabrey seemed "shocked and upset."
"He said, `I just didn't see her step out,"' Anderson testified. Mabrey's friend Terry Floor testified that the defendant went to Burger King in an attempt to sober up.
"I think he went over there to buy some time because he knew he'd been drinking," Floor testified. "He seemed paralyzed to me."
Mabrey was arrested when he walked back to the accident scene. Floor testified that he and Mabrey had been drinking in a bar and when they got back to his truck, he had to clean up a number of empty beer bottles left in the vehicle.
Once in the truck, Floor said he commented to Mabrey, "I can't believe you drank the whole 12-pack."
Wendy Liggitt, a police officer from Lakewood, Colo., testified that she arrested Mabrey for driving under the influence and striking a parked car on April 9, 2008.
The officer said that on the way to a detox center, she advised Mabrey that he needed to stop drinking and driving because if he didn't, "someday he was going to kill someone."
Alan Lester Mabrey had to go to Burger King before he could return to the scene? That's just wrong. Return to San Diego Local News Roundup
