A man who allegedly got behind the wheel while drunk and crashed his car into a tree in Lake Forest, killing his passenger, was due to make his first court appearance Thursday on a gross vehicular manslaughter charge.
Richard Barnes Jacobsen III, 28, is charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, a felony, and driving on a suspended license.
The May 5, 2016, crash at Lake Forest Drive and Jeronimo Road about 3:35 a.m. killed Jessica Lujan of Anaheim. The victim died a day after her 26th birthday.
Lujan and Jacobsen, who were dating on and off again, were “rekindling” the relationship and had spent the day at Disneyland for her birthday and then went out drinking, Deputy District Attorney Whitney Bokosky said.
Jacobsen’s blood-alcohol level was measured at .13, well above the legal limit of .08, Bokosky said.
Jacobsen, who was hospitalized following the crash, was charged Oct. 3 in an arrest warrant and was taken into custody Wednesday, with bail set at $115,000.
Jacobsen pleaded guilty on Dec. 5, 2011, to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence and at an unsafe speed and was placed on three years of informal probation, according to court records.
–City News Service