Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 01/08/07

Contact person(s):

Media Coordinator, Donna Edwards - 565-3099 Media Spokesperson, Assistant District Attorney Christine Cook

Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California

DEFENDANT GUILTY IN VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER CASE

District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua announced that on Friday, January 5, 2006, the man who killed two motorcyclists in a head-on collision near Jenner last July pled no contest to two counts of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. Superior Court Judge Arthur Wick thereafter found him guilty of the offenses.

District Attorney Passalacqua stated, "This was an entirely avoidable act that resulted in the tragic deaths of two people who were greatly loved by their families and the community. This was a case of criminal negligence, confirmed by the guilty verdict."

Ricky Leonard Chrisco was driving a 2002 Honda Civic on Highway 1 just south of Jenner a little after 9:30 p.m. on July 8, 2006 when he crossed solid double yellow lines in an attempt to pass a slower moving vehicle. He immediately collided head-on with a motorcycle driven by James V. Coleman, traveling in the opposite direction. Both Coleman, 59, and his passenger, Mary Tinsley, 57, were killed. Under an agreement reached between prosecutors and the defense, Chrisco faces a maximum term of one year in the Sonoma County jail. He will be sentenced by Judge Wick on February 21, 2007.

Deputy District Attorney Barbara Nanney was the assigned prosecutor on the case. She was assisted by District Attorney Investigator Brian Davis and Victim Advocate Charlotte Stafford. California Highway Patrol Officer Goldhammer was the investigating officer.