LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — Former Los Angeles Police Department officer Edgar Verduzco, 34, pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of murder after a 2017 high-speed DUI crash killed three members of the Davila family on the 605 Freeway. The victims included a mother, father, and their 19-year-old son.
Key Points
- Edgar Verduzco pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and two DUI-related charges.
- The 2017 crash killed Maribel, Mario, and Oscar Davila after their car burst into flames.
- Verduzco faces three concurrent terms of 15 years to life in state prison.
Deadly crash at 150 mph
Verduzco admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol at approximately 150 miles per hour when he caused the crash on Sept. 26, 2017. At the time, he was off-duty and traveling on the 605 Freeway in Los Angeles County. The impact forced one vehicle into the center divider, where it caught fire and killed all three occupants inside.
The victims were identified as Maribel Davila, Mario Davila, and their 19-year-old son, Oscar Davila, a student at UC Riverside. A second vehicle involved in the crash carried a mother and her infant; both survived with minor injuries.
Charges and sentencing details
In addition to the three murder charges, Verduzco pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and one count of driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher causing injury.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 11 in Department 120 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Verduzco faces three concurrent terms of 15 years to life in state prison for murder and one concurrent three-year term for DUI causing injury.
District attorney responds
District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said Verduzco’s actions were especially egregious given his law enforcement background. “As a police officer, Mr. Verduzco was aware that recklessly driving under the influence of alcohol at 150 miles per hour was extremely dangerous to human life,” Hochman stated in the announcement.
He also expressed sympathy for the Davila family, noting that Oscar Davila had four surviving siblings. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Kaveh Faturechi of the Justice System Integrity Division.