Jan I. Goldsmith: San Diego City Attorney

San Diego City Attorney
Jan I. Goldsmith
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 1, 2015
Contact: Gerry Braun, Director of Communications: gbraun@sandiego.gov (619) 533-4782
Multiple Hit-and-Run Driver Pleads Guilty

Man impaired by meth, drugs damaged five cars in 2014 Pacific Beach rampage
A hit-and-run driver who damaged five cars during a collision-filled rampage in Pacific Beach pled guilty today
to driving under the influence of drugs.
Jon Michael Richards, 27, was arrested on February 11, 2014, after a hit-and-run spree that was witnessed by
scores of people in busy lunch-hour traffic.
Over the course of 17 minutes, Richards:
ran a red light on Grand Avenue and hit his first victims car in the intersection. That car spun out and
hit another car, and Richards fled the scene, leaving behind one of his car bumpers bearing his license
plate;
rear-ended a second vehicle at a red light at 1800 Garnet Avenue while police were investigating the
first collision. Witnesses said Richards was speeding and did not slow down. The driver of the car he
rear-ended told Richards to follow him to a nearby parking lot, so they could exchange insurance
information, but instead Richards drove around the accident scene and fled; and then
hit a parked car in the 2700 block of Garnet Avenue from behind, reversed, drove against traffic,
sideswiped another car, and fled the scene.
Pursued by witnesses, Richards drive to his residence in the De Anza Cove Mobile Home Park. When police
found him outside his mobile home, Richards initially claimed he had no involvement in the accidents. Only
after being identified by several witnesses did he admit he was the driver.
As they interviewed Richards, officers noted that he was slurring his speech and mumbling, swaying and
staggering, and that, while he was agitated and had an elevated pulse rate, he nodded off when placed in a patrol
car. He admitted to having taken Klonopin and some blue pills earlier.
Blood tests subsequently showed high levels of methamphetamine and Clonazepam, the nervous system
depressant marketed as Klonopin and prescribed for people suffering from panic attacks and epilepsy.
Recent City Attorney media releases can be accessed on the San Diego City Attorneys home page located on the Internet at http://www.sandiegocityattorney.org
1200 Third Avenue, Suite 1620, San Diego, California 92101-4188 (619) 236-6220
The case was prosecuted by Deputy City Attorney Taylor Garrot, who specializes in Drugged Driving cases
under federally funded grant administered by the California Office of Traffic Safety.
Garrot has successfully prosecuted cases in which drivers were under the influence of such drugs as
methamphetamine and cocaine; painkillers such as ketamine, antidepressants such as Seroquel; opiates,
including morphine, codeine, heroin and hydrocodone; and benzodiazepines, such as Ativan, Valium and
Xanax.
Richards was sentenced to 120 days in a residential treatment program and five years probation, and fined
$2,133. Restitution rights were reserved for all of his victims.
The City Attorneys Office receives all misdemeanor DUI arrest reports occurring within Poway, 4-S Ranch
and the City of San Diego, except its South Bay communities. Garrot works with the States Traffic Safety
Resource Protector Program to expand knowledge and resources in the office and throughout the county
through training programs with law enforcement personnel.
The San Diego City Attorneys Office has a conviction rate of more than 99 percent when it prosecutes DUI
cases, but prosecution techniques are not yet as sophisticated for Drugged Driving cases as they are for ones
where alcohol is the sole factor. The City Attorneys Office is fast becoming a leader in prosecution techniques
for these cases due, in large part, to the work being done under the federal grant.
Taylors expertise in prosecuting these cases helps not only our office, but other law enforcement
agencies deal with the growing problem of drug-impaired driving, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said.
Each year our county experiences thousands of serious injuries and deaths caused by motorists
impaired by drugs and alcohol, and his work is keeping dangerous drivers off our streets.
The $263,000 grant comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration.
Recent City Attorney media releases can be accessed on the San Diego City Attorneys home page located on the Internet at http://www.sannet.gov/city-attorney
1200 Third Avenue, Suite 1620, San Diego, California 92101-4188 (619) 236-6220

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San Diego City Attorney

Multiple Hit-and-Run Driver Pleads Guilty

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