GRAND RAPIDS -- The judge, prosecution and even the defense lawyer were surprised when what was supposed to be a quick court appearance Friday turned into a demand by the accused to plead guilty to drunken driving causing serious injury.

Odilon Castillo-Morales, 24, is charged with two counts of drunken driving for a Jan. 18 crash that injured two people. Investigators said his borrowed SUV cut across multiple lanes of 28th Street SE and crashed head-on into a vehicle driven by Osma Abdi, 18, near Breton Avenue.Also in the vehicle was Abdi's mother, 40-year-old Amina Abdi, and 30-year-old Masa Kamana.

Osma Abdi was not seriously injured, but Kamana received a broken arm and several cuts and Amina Abdi remains hospitalized with broken legs, a broken arm and closed-head injuries, according to Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Timothy Doyle.

Hours after the crash, police determined Castillo-Morales' blood alcohol level was 0.13 -- the legal definition of drunk is 0.08.

Castillo-Morales' lawyer, Brett Stevenson, was in the midst of telling Grand Rapids District Judge Michael Christensen that his client wished to waive the probable cause hearing Friday when the defendant told the judge he was not waiving his hearing.

After a moment of stunned silence, Stevenson asked Castillo-Morales why and, through an interpreter, he said "because I am guilty."

A few moments of intense three-way conversation ensued before Stevenson told Christensen that his client wanted to plead guilty on the spot.

Doyle rose quickly to support that idea, saying that injured victim Kamana was at the courthouse and was apprehensive about the American legal process and would like to get the process over with as soon as possible. Kamana and Abdi are from Western Africa.

Doyle offered Castillo-Morales a deal in which he pleaded guilty to one count of operating under the influence of liquor, with a call for restitution to both victims, in exchange for dropping the second OUIL charge.

The charge is a felony, which are handled by Kent County Circuit Court except for rare occasions. But Christensen took the plea in District Court to accommodate the wishes of both victim and defendant.

"I may get yelled at by a Circuit Court judge in the elevator, but so be it," said the 17-year veteran of the District Court bench.

As Kamana watched, Castillo-Morales admitted his guilt and pledged to pay the hospital bills, car damage costs and any other related expenses.

A March 5 sentencing is planned for Circuit Court. Castillo-Morales faces a maximum of five years in prison. When he is released, he likely will be deported.

E-mail Barton Deiters: bdeiters@grpress.com