Suspect in fatal boating accident a convicted felon
| Sunday, Aug 29 2010 07:22 PM
Last Updated Sunday, Aug 29 2010 07:22 PM
A suspected drunk-boating accident killed a 28-year-old Bakersfield man Saturday and sent a 23-year-old with a criminal history to jail.
Salvador Rodriguez died at the scene of the accident at the Buena Vista Aquatic Recreational Area, located about 25 miles southwest of Bakersfield. Rodriguez had been operating a boat on Lake Webb around 5:15 p.m. when the craft was struck by another boat, county coroner's and parks officials reported.
The operator of the second boat, Justin Mark Ennis of Bakersfield, was arrested on suspicion of felony boating under the influence and manslaughter. Ennis was being held without bail at the downtown jail Sunday, online records show. Ennis also faces a felony charge for violating state parole conditions.
He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.
Ennis was involved in an April 2008 incident in which a woman suffocated to death after being bound and gagged with duct tape in a Taft College teacher's southwest Bakersfield home, Californian archives show.
In a 2009 plea bargain, Ennis -- who was originally charged with second-degree murder -- pleaded no contest to felony assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury. He was sentenced to two years in prison and served time at Wasco State Prison. The teacher, James Arthur Wyatt, who was 60 at the time of the incident, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison. Wyatt had taught automotive classes.
The woman, 44-year-old Lora Louise Shine, was Wyatt's longtime girlfriend.
Ennis told a Californian reporter that he, Wyatt and a third man smoked marijuana and drank margaritas while they tried to figure out what to do after discovering Shine dead in an upstairs bedroom. Ennis and Wyatt had allegedly tied up the woman after she and Wyatt argued. They had left her bound in the room for several hours before returning to find her dead.
Ennis, a 2005 Ridgeview High School graduate, has other convictions, online court records show. In 2006, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor petty theft charge. In 2005, he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of vandalism and assault. Also in 2005, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of hit and run resulting in property damage.
Ennis declined a jailhouse interview request Sunday afternoon.
Saturday's accident is being investigated by the Kern County Parks and Recreation Department.
Chief Park Ranger Robert Boardman said Sunday the incident was still under investigation and he couldn't release any more details. An autopsy of the victim is slated for Monday afternoon, he said.
While the parks department is the lead agency, Boardman said personnel from the Kern County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway Patrol "were out there in force last night and helped us immensely."
Parks Sgt. T.J. Williams was on duty at Lake Webb Sunday and couldn't remember any recent boating deaths there. Alcohol and boats are never a good mix, he added.
"Any time you boat under the influence, it's a problem," Williams said.
Carlos Madrigal, Luis Barillas, Vanessa Cervantes and Faustino Vieyra were at the lake Sunday afternoon. They had been at the scene Saturday and helped a girl from the victim's boat out of the water after the accident.
They say the girl swam to shore to try to get help.
Vieyra said the girl was screaming: "Call 911! Call 911! Help me, they killed my uncle!"
Vieyra and the others said there were two adults and four children in the victim's boat.
They also said witnesses described the suspect's boat as carrying two men and two women who weren't paying much attention to where they were going. Instead, they appeared to be dancing.
Michael LaFrenz, who races boats and has been coming to Lake Webb for 30 years, worries that some boaters don't know their limits.
"Most people wouldn't go camping and drink all day then get in a car and drive," LaFrenz said. "Those same people will drink all day and get in a boat."
The Buena Vista recreational area is a man-made site completed in 1973. Lake Webb, which covers 873 acres, is the main attraction, with boating, jet skiing, fishing and camping. A smaller lake, 86-acre Lake Evans, is geared for fishing and limits boats to 5 miles per hour.
