BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Wasco man accused of driving drunk in a crash that killed a 1-year-old girl pleaded no contest to all charges Tuesday for a court-indicated sentence of eight years and four months in prison.
Irving De Jesus Rodriguez-Barraza made an “open plea,” entering no contest pleas to all counts — gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and two counts of DUI causing injury. He’d faced more time behind bars if convicted at trial.
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The court-indicated plea was taken over the prosecution’s objections, said Deputy District Attorney Kacie Barrier.
Rodriguez-Barraza’s attorney, David A. Torres, said, “Despite the open plea, this was a court-indicated disposition which we believed was fair given the circumstances.”
Sentencing is set for Nov. 14.
Around 4:30 p.m. on July 23, 2022, Rodriguez-Barraza and a passenger were traveling in a Dodge Ram east on Burbank Street, according to California Highway Patrol. A Bakersfield man was driving a Jeep Cherokee with a woman and two children — ages 6 and 1 — north on Shafter Avenue approaching Burbank Street.