Unusual murder charges in crash after Lake County robbery

Prosecutors and defense attorneys in Lake County are sparring over the meaning of murder after four robbery suspects were indicted on charges of killing a woman, even though they were miles from the victim when she died in a car crash.

Authorities say the quartet's actions led to the death of Gabriela Rivas Garcia, 26, of Clearlake. She died in a head-on collision with a sheriff's deputy who was responding to a home-invasion robbery allegedly carried out by the four defendants near Lower Lake in October.

A grand jury handed down indictments last week under the felony murder rule, which allows defendants to be convicted of murder if a killing happens as a result of an inherently dangerous crime - even if the defendants didn't intend to kill. In the past, the law has been used to charge robbers with the deaths of accomplices who are gunned down by victims or the police.

The Lake County incident began early on Oct. 3, when deputies responded to a report of a home-invasion robbery at a house that had earlier been the setting of a police drug bust. Residents reported that four people had beaten, robbed and shot at them before fleeing in a pickup, authorities said.

Deputies spotted the truck and began a chase that ended with the arrest of two of the alleged robbers. The two others were arrested in the following days, authorities said.

The case took an unusual turn, though, when Deputy Scott Lewis sought to assist in the pursuit. He collided head-on with Garcia on Highway 29 near Diener Drive, roughly 8 miles from where the chase was taking place, sheriff's officials said.

Despite the distance, Lake County prosecutor Sharon Lerman-Hubert said the defendants are responsible for the death.

"Their actions played a substantial role in this woman's death," she said. "If it wasn't for the robbery, the crash never would've happened."

The district attorney's office is waiting for the results of a CHP investigation into the crash to determine whether Lewis, who was also injured, will face charges.

Evan Zelig, a defense attorney representing 29-year-old defendant Jesse Gilbert Moncivaiz of Clearlake, said the murder indictment was "a bit of a stretch," and that he would seek to dismiss it once the CHP investigation was done.

"I understand how the felony murder rule works, but this death was so far removed from the crime that the result was not foreseeable," Zelig said. "I don't think this is how the law was meant to be applied."

Indicted along with Moncivaiz were Clearlake residents Robert Conaster, 38, and Angelita Jeanette Raffa, 28, along with 20-year-old Lauren Astor Faumuina of Hidden Valley Lake.