This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Against the advice of his attorneys, a Utah man refused to take a plea deal Wednesday related to a fatal hit-and-run last year in a Clearfield crosswalk.
Jose Antonio Cortez Orozco, 38, is charged with second-degree felony manslaughter for Kelly Allred's May 20, 2014, death, along with charges of felony failure to stop for police, leaving the scene of an injury or fatal accident, and misdemeanor violation of a protective order.
His attorney, Todd Utzinger, told 2nd District Judge David Hamilton that prosecutors offered Orozco the option to plead guilty to the manslaughter charge and third-degree felony failure to stop for police — but his client rejected the deal.
"[Defense attorney Julie] George and I both advised him to accept the plea offer," Utzinger said as Orozco shook his head side-to-side. "He wants to exercise his right to go to trial, however."
Allred's mother, Darla Allred, said after the hearing that she had thought Orozco was going to plead guilty on Wednesday.
"It's gone on way too long," she said. "Now we know we can go to trial and get it over with."
Darla Allred said her family — including her son's three children — still think about and miss Kelly Allred a year after his death.
"I try to keep myself busy at work so I don't have to think too much about it," she said. "But it's empty without him."
A three-day trial is scheduled to begin July 13.
Originally, Orozco faced a second-degree felony automobile homicide charge, accused of driving drunk and having a blood-alcohol level of 0.15, nearly twice the legal driving limit of 0.08.
But Utzinger said Wednesday that his client's blood-alcohol level was actually only 0.06. The charge was amended last week to manslaughter, which alleges Orozco "recklessly caused the death of another."
Police have said events leading to the fatal accident began when Orozco went to the Freeport Center in Clearfield at about 10 p.m. on May 20 with flowers for his estranged wife, despite a protective order forbidding contact with her.
Police, notified of the violation, later spotted Orozco driving in the area and tried to pull him over.
Orozco, according to a probable cause statement, refused to stop and accelerated away from police. A brief high-speed chase ensued, but the pursuit was soon terminated for public safety reasons.
Orozco was believed to be traveling at 60 mph or more when, about 10 minutes later, he allegedly struck Kelly Allred in the intersection of 700 South (Highway 193) and State Street (Highway 26).
Darla Allred said last year that her son had just got off work before the accident, and had walked to a nearby Maverik convenience store to buy a few hot dogs and a bag of Doritos.
The mother said her son was walking back from the convenience store when he was struck. Kelly Allred died after about four hours later at a hospital, the mother said.
Orozco was later arrested at his North Salt Lake home. He remains in the Davis County Jail under a federal immigration hold order, as well as $50,000 bail.
Twitter: @jm_miller