HOLLISTER
– An apparent attempt to weaken a defense attorney’s claims in
the Robert Orabuena case may end up making it stronger.
HOLLISTER – An apparent attempt to weaken a defense attorney’s claims in the Robert Orabuena case may end up making it stronger.
Orabuena, 41, of Gilroy, is scheduled to go on trial today for misdemeanor charges of vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving and one vehicle code infraction of driving without proof of insurance.
The charges against Orabuena stem from a July 4 accident on Fairview Road in Hollister that ended with the death of Joseph Judnick, 48, of Salinas.
Local attorney Arthur Cantu said he believes an attempt by prosecutors to tear down the defense case has backfired.
To disprove the defense’s claim that Judnick was traveling at an excessively high rate of speed, which contributed to the accident, prosecutors asked the California Highway Patrol to measure the weight of Orabuena’s van using a crane, Cantu said.
Deputy District Attorney Denny Wei declined to comment on the weighing of the van.
“As a policy, we do not talk about the facts of a case,” Wei said.
The idea behind weighing
the van, which Judnick crashed into, was to prove that it weighed less than Cantu had esti-mated it did.
An expert estimated Judnick’s speed based partially on the distance Orabuena’s van was moved when Judnick crashed into it.
The impact speed was originally estimated to be between 68 and 75 mph, according to court testimony.
If the van weighs less than the 2,900 pounds that Cantu’s expert estimated, then Judnick would have been traveling at a much slower speed than estimated.
However, the van weighed in at 3,211 pounds – 311 pounds heavier than the earlier estimate.
“That means that Judnick was traveling even faster than our earlier estimates,” Cantu said.
Cantu has successfully defended Orabuena against charges of second-degree murder and felony vehicular manslaughter.
