A drunk driver who killed his two passengers while trying to take them home from a party was sentenced Sept. 8 to 30 years to life in state prison.
The earliest opportunity for parole is in 2044 for Mario “Mars” Alberto Carranza, 28, said Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright. A jury convicted him of two counts of second-degree murder June 30.
Family members of both victims, Carlos “C.J.” Kristopher Vargas, 20, of Chula Vista, and Monica Lupercio, 20, of San Diego, spoke tearfully of their deaths that occurred April 19, 2014 on Interstate 8.
“All I feel is deep sadness in my heart,” said Vivian Bangle, an aunt of Vargas. “I can’t erase that image of his dead body lying in that front seat. You must be held responsible for your actions. You killed two people.”
“I hope we can save others from you,” said Lisa Kessler, a cousin of Vargas, to Carranza.
“This pain I feel is very strong and I would not want it on anyone,” said Lupercio’s mother, Maribel Lupercio. “This pain I feel will never go away. I would like to wake up from this nightmare.”
El Cajon Superior Court Judge Ronald Frazier ordered two terms of 15 years to life to run consecutively and not concurrently as urged by Carranza’s attorney, George Siddell.
Siddell said his client has “diminished mental capacity” and was a slow learner in school. Bright said Carranza has a previous drunk driving conviction from 2007 and attended classes by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers as part of his sentence.
Frazier ordered Carranza to pay $2,025 to the crime victim’s compensation fund and fined him $10,714. Carranza was given credit for serving 874 days in jail.
Carranza stood up and faced the courtroom audience saying, “I wish it were me instead of them. I’m not a murderer. I wish I could take it all back. I don’t know what happened.”
Carranza disclosed that he was offered a guilty plea to one count of second-degree murder, but he rejected it because he didn’t believe he was a murderer. His attorney said he tried to settle the case, but Carranza didn’t have the understanding of what a long sentence he was facing if convicted of two murders.
Bright said Carranza’s blood/alcohol level was three times the legal limit and he had also used cocaine. Carranza took his two passengers to a party in Alpine, and passed out in a bathtub. He woke up at 7 a.m. the next morning, still under the influence, and tried to drive them home around 7:30 a.m.
Carranza hit a center divider, overcorrected, and drove through a chain-link fence. The car overturned in a concrete culvert in East County and he was the only survivor.
