Watch CBS News

Driver Who Allegedly Crashed Into Mission Viejo House, Killing 1, Had Previous DUI Conviction

MISSION VIEJO (CBSLA.com) — Murder charges were filed Monday against a convicted drunk driver who allegedly crashed a car into a Mission Viejo home, killing a man as he slept in his bed.

Kourosh Keshmiri, 27, of Mission Viejo, is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

Keshmiri, who was booked Sunday for felony drunken driving with a prior conviction, is already facing charges in a separate case from June 2013.

In the June case, Keshmiri faces a misdemeanor count each of driving under the influence of alcohol with a prior, driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent or more with a prior and sentencing enhancements and allegations for having a blood alcohol level over .15 percent and having a prior DUI conviction from 2010. He is scheduled to appear in court for a pre-trial hearing on Jan. 23 in this case.

Attorney Christopher Jafari, who represented Keshmiri in both cases, declined comment. He said he would be meeting with Keshmiri's family to discuss his client's case.

Prosecutors say Keshmiri was speeding more than 50 mph in a 25 mph residential neighborhood when he lost control of his car and crashed into a home, driving into the front bedroom where 60-year-old Kenneth Jackson was sleeping in his bed.

Video from the scene showed a late-model maroon Cadillac had launched into the house before impact, its rear tires in the air. When deputies responded to the scene, prosecutors say Keshmiri displayed objective signs of intoxication and performed poorly on a field sobriety test.

Orange County sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock said there had been two men inside of the Cadillac. Both suffered minor injuries and required no medical attention.

Keshmiri was charged this year with driving on a suspended license, a misdemeanor, according to court records. In 2010, Keshmiri was put on three years of informal probation, which expired in September, and was given the standard fines and ordered to participate in an alcohol program for first offenders, according to court records.

Jackson was pronounced dead in his home in the 26000 block of Pacato Drive, but a second man inside the home escaped injury, Hallock said.

A natural gas line was severed during the crash, and needed to be stabilized before a tow truck could extract the car from the home, Hallock said.

If convicted of the charges in Sunday's crash, Keshmiri faces up to 15 years to life in prison.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.