IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 17-0914 Filed August 15, 2018 STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. FERNANDO LOPEZ-AGUILAR, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________________________________________________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeffrey D. Farrell, Judge. Fernando Lopez-Aguilar appeals his convictions arising out of a fatal traffic accident. AFFIRMED. Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender, and Stephan J. Japuntich, Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant. Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Louis S. Sloven, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee. Heard by Danilson, C.J., and Mullins and McDonald, JJ. 2 MCDONALD, Judge. Following trial by jury, Fernando Lopez-Aguilar was convicted of multiple offenses arising out of a fatal car crash. He was convicted of reckless driving, in violation of Iowa Code section 321.277 (2016); involuntary manslaughter, in violation of Iowa Code section 707.5; serious injury by reckless driving, in violation of 707.6A(4); two counts of neglect of a dependent person, in violation of Iowa Code section 726.3; and two counts of child endangerment, in violation of Iowa Code section 726.6. On appeal, Lopez-Aguilar contends the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion for mistrial. He also contends there was insufficient evidence establishing recklessness. Finally, he raises several claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. I. On the afternoon of September 8, 2016, Lopez-Aguilar, an unlicensed motorist, was driving on an unfamiliar-to-him stretch of Bell Avenue in Des Moines. Also in the vehicle were Lopez-Aguilar’s girlfriend, Frances Jordan, and two children. This particular stretch of Bell Avenue was in a very hilly, residential area. The afternoon sun was shining into Lopez-Aguilar’s eyes. The posted speed limit was twenty-five miles per hour. Lopez-Aguilar was exceeding the speed limit, reaching speeds of forty-eight miles per hour. Jordan asked Lopez-Aguilar to slow down, but he did not do so. While driving westbound on Bell Avenue, Lopez-Aguilar ran through a stop sign shortly after cresting a hill. As Lopez-Aguilar’s car traveled through the intersection, it struck the rear passenger-side wheel of a truck traveling through the intersection northbound on Southeast Sixth Avenue. The impact dislodged the 3 truck’s rear axle. The force of impact launched the truck up into the air in a spin. The back of the spinning, airborne truck crashed into the front end and windshield of another vehicle traveling southbound on Southeast Sixth Avenue. After the truck collided with the second vehicle, the truck reversed rotation and came to rest perpendicular to the second vehicle. There were three occupants in the southbound vehicle, Phann Sos and his two granddaughters. Sos suffered serious injuries as a result of the accident. One of the granddaughters, L.P., died as a result of her injuries. Below is an exhibit showing the accident site. The exhibit shows Lopez-Aguilar’s vehicle continued through the intersection after impact and came to rest in the side yard of a home near the intersection. The truck is facing westbound, perpendicular to Sos’s vehicle. 4 Officer David Olsen and other police officers arrived at the scene and commenced an investigation. Lopez-Aguilar stated he was ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals