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Immigrant smuggler convicted in fatal SoCal car chase

The Associated Press | Tuesday, Apr 25 2006 7:15 PM

Last Updated: Tuesday, Apr 25 2006 7:15 PM

An immigrant smuggler was convicted Tuesday of causing the deaths of three passengers in a June 2003 crash while fleeing authorities.

A jury deliberated for nearly six hours before finding Antonio Sanchez, 30, guilty on three counts of second-degree murder.

Sanchez, a Mexican citizen, was retried for speeding away from the California Highway Patrol on state Route 78 near Borrego Springs, killing a woman and two men he was trying to smuggle into the country.

He was originally convicted in March 2004 on similar charges and sentenced to 53 years to life in prison. But a state appellate court reversed his conviction last August, ruling that juries cannot base a murder conviction solely on the fact that someone was killed while a defendant fled police.

The San Diego County district attorney's office retried the case.

If a judge orders Sanchez to serve his sentence concurrently, he could spend 23 years to life in prison when he is sentenced June 2.

If ordered to serve the terms consecutively, Sanchez would face 53 years to life in sentence - the same sentence he was given after his first trial.