Man Convicted of Vehicular Manslaughter After Drag Racing Incident Kills Local Paper Editor

A 29-year-old man was sentenced to nine years in prison Friday for his part in a street-racing crash that killed a veteran newspaper editor near his Santa Ana home.

Ricardo Navarro Tolento was convicted in February of gross vehicular manslaughter and hit and run with death, both felonies, as well as a misdemeanor count of engaging in a speed contest. Jurors also found true a sentencing enhancement for fleeing the scene of a vehicular manslaughter.

Co-defendant Louie Robert Villa was convicted of second-degree murder in August 2022 and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Villa had a prior conviction for DUI, which allowed prosecutors to escalate the charges from manslaughter to murder…

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