A Venice man who led sheriff’s deputies on a brief pursuit in a stolen car that slammed into a landscape worker on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, killing him, pleaded not guilty Thursday to several felony charges.
Kevin James Hicks, 23, entered his plea to one count each of fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle causing death, driving or taking a vehicle without consent with a prior conviction, assault with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence causing injury, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The crash last Nov. 29 killed Juan Castillo, 28, who was walking along the right shoulder.
Hicks — who, according to prosecutors, had a conviction for grand theft auto in Kern County last year — was behind the wheel of a stolen Mazda 6 that deputies had unsuccessfully tried to stop on PCH. A supervisor from the sheriff’s department called off the chase after 15 to 30 seconds because of the Mazda’s speed and erratic operation, Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez said soon afterward.
Hicks was rescued by deputies from the car after it crashed into parked vehicles and caught fire, and suffered moderate injuries in the crash. He was arrested Dec. 5 by deputies from the sheriff’s Lost Hills station, and has remained behind bars since then.