A former LAPD Officer received three sentences of 15-years to life in prison on Friday, July 18, for killing a Riverside couple and their son when he drove drunk and hit two other cars on the 605 Freeway in West Whittier in 2017. The family was trapped in their burning car.
Edgar Verduzco, 34, of Santa Ana will serve the sentences at the same time, said Deputy District Attorney Kaveh Faturechi.
Verduzco pleaded guilty on April 11 to three counts of murder, one count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, and one count of driving with a .08 percent blood alcohol content causing injury.
He was also sentenced on Friday to two years each for the DUI charges, which will be served concurrently, Faturechi said.
Verduzco apologized to the victims’ family during his sentencing held at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
Verduzco’s lawyer couldn’t be reached for comment on Friday.
An off-duty Verduzco was drunk and driving 150 mph when his Camaro rear-ended a Nissan and a Scion on the southbound 605 Freeway, south of Saragosa Street, in the unincorporated community of West Whittier the night of Sept. 26, 2017, according to the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The Nissan hit a center divider and burst into flames, killing 52-year-old Maribel Davila, 60-year-old Mario Davila, and their 19-year-old son, Oscar Davila.
The Scion was carrying a mother and baby. The woman suffered minor injuries.
Oscar Davila, a graduate of John W. North High School in Riverside, worked as a tutor at his former school.
The Davilas also have three other sons and a daughter, Faturechi said.
Verduzco, who resigned from the LAPD, was with the department from July 2015 to July 2018, the LAPD said. At the time of the crash, he worked the front desk at Central Division.