Jurors Deadlock in Sanity Phase of Trial for Former Marine Convicted in Deadly Hollywood Crash

A jury deadlocked Tuesday on whether a former Marine was sane or insane when he caused a drunken car crash that killed two pedestrians crossing an intersection in Hollywood three years ago.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bob Bowers declared a mistrial after jurors announced they were split 10-2—with the majority in favor of finding Sergio Rogelio Delgado to be sane—following about a day and a half of deliberations, according to Jane Robison of the District Attorney's Office.

On Aug. 17, jurors convicted the 32-year-old defendant of two counts each of second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of hit-and-run stemming from the July 13, 2008, crash that killed Cecilia Diaz and Pedro Davila.

The two were struck on Wilcox Avenue after Delgado ran a red light while he was being pursued by police, who were about two blocks behind and had observed him driving at a "very high rate of speed,'' said Deputy District Attorney Kennes Ma.

Delgado—whose blood-alcohol content was nearly four times the legal limit—had previously been convicted in 2003 of driving under the influence and had completed a program that includes discussion about the perils of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Ma told jurors.

Defense attorney John Lee said his client suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after a series of traumatic events, including a stint in which he was commended by the Marine Corps for guarding Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners.

In December 2006, Delgado checked himself into a Veterans Administration hospital, where he stayed for six months after reporting being paranoid, then checked himself into the hospital five days before the deadly crash because he was suffering paranoid delusions, according to his attorney.

Delgado is due back in court Sept. 7 for a pretrial hearing.

This article originally ran on Hollywood Patch.

—City News Service