People v. Lagunas
Annotate this CaseIn California, Maximino Delgado Lagunas was convicted of second-degree murder after he struck and killed a six-year-old girl while driving under the influence of alcohol. Lagunas had been previously convicted of driving under the influence in 2007 and 2015 and was warned that if he continued to drive while intoxicated and hit someone, he could be charged with murder. On the day of the incident, Lagunas was driving at high speeds in a residential neighborhood, failed to negotiate a turn, and did not apply his brakes, ultimately killing the child. On appeal, Lagunas argued that there was insufficient evidence to support his murder conviction and that the trial court erred by not instructing the jury on a lesser related offense (gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated). The Court of Appeal of the State of California Fourth Appellate District Division Three disagreed with Lagunas' claims, finding substantial evidence to support the jury's determination that he deliberately acted with conscious disregard for human life, affirming the trial court’s judgment.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.