DUI Motorist Gets 15 Years to Life For Collision That Killed a Bicyclist

Santa Ana - A Garden Grove man who killed a woman bicycling alongside her teenage son in Seal Beach in a drug- and alcohol-fueled crash was sentenced on Friday to 15 years to life in prison.

Alex David Trujillo, 45, was convicted of second-degree murder stemming from the Oct. 12, 2008, collision that killed 46-year-old Catherine Busse.

Before trial, Superior Court Judge James Marion rejected defense attorney David R. Cohn's motion to let the jury consider a lesser charge of vehicular manslaughter. Cohn said after today's sentencing that he will file an appeal.

Trujillo was charged with second-degree murder in part because he had a 2002 DUI conviction and had been warned about the dangers of drinking and driving and the risk of facing murder charges during nine months of court-mandated alcohol-awareness classes.

Deputy District Attorney Susan Price successfully argued that Trujillo showed a "conscious disregard for life" -- the legal standard for second-degree murder -- when he ran over Busse in his pickup truck while legally drunk and with painkillers and other prescription medicine in his system.

Busse's husband, two sisters and longtime friends told the judge today that her death has left its deepest imprint on her 16-year-old autistic son, Sam.

Busse -- who was a "warrior mom," a term for the mothers of autistic children -- was chiefly responsible for his education and care, and the rest of the family has struggled to help Busse's husband, Ben, look after the boy.

"It's so difficult to explain how our lives have been affected by Cathy's death," Ben Busse said. "She lived and breathed for Sam ... Every moment she had, she read or attended classes to help him overcome this condition."

Busse, who is a police officer, said he will have to delay his retirement because of the expense of caring for his son. Busse also worries about who will care for his son when his father dies.

"Your honor, we're not asking for revenge, we just want justice served," he said, asking for the maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison.

Angi Biscan told the judge that her sister was "charming, funny and a fitness fanatic."

Biscan noted her sibling was an organ donor. The victim's kidney, liver and eyes were harvested, but her lungs and heart were too damaged in the accident to be donated, she added.

Ben Busse said his wife's skin was used for grafts to help wounded soldiers.

Another of the victim's sisters, Diana Homeyer, said, her loss "has left a permanent hole in our hearts."

Trujillo declined to say anything on his behalf during the court hearing. But in a letter to the judge, he expressed remorse and asked Marion to grant him probation because he is worried about providing for his wife and grandmother, who lives with the couple, and fears state prison after "barely surviving" nearly two years in custody in an Orange County jail.

"I'm so very sorry about this devastating accident and take full responsibility for my actions," Trujillo wrote, adding it has "torn apart two families and I've lived with the pain and guilty every day, as I will for the rest of my life."

Trujillo went on to say he has been a charitable person, including donating money to the 700 Club.

"Your honor, I'm not trying to say that I'm some great person. What I'm trying to say is what happened was an accident and totally out of character for me," Trujillo wrote.

Marion acknowledged Trujillo had expressed some remorse, but said he wondered whether the defendant fully understood his alcohol and drug issues.

"He's an alcoholic," Marion said. "Whether he recognizes the depth of it, he is an alcoholic with drug dependency problems."

Cohn defended his client, saying he is remorseful and has wanted to resolve the charges against him from the beginning but took issue with the murder charge.

"He's got a lot of good things going for him, but 100 percent remorseful -- I don't think he's there yet," the judge replied.

Trujillo has 672 days credit in custody, so will be eligible for parole in about 13 years.

Trujillo started taking prescription painkillers after he was hurt on the job as a driver for the Long Beach Unified School District, Cohn said.

Trujillo was prescribed the painkillers he had in his system the day of the crash, his attorney added.

Blood tests after the fatal crash showed Trujillo had the painkillers Oxycodone and Vicodin and the anti-anxiety medicine Xanax in his system. A defense expert who testified at the trial said the muscle relaxant Soma was later detected in the defendant's system, Price said.

The Garden Grove resident had been drinking the night before at a wedding in Big Bear, according to trial testimony. He stayed overnight with his wife at a hotel near the reception, and she drove them home.

Within a few hours of their return, Trujillo went out to pick up a few items for his grandmother at Bed Bath & Beyond, Cohn said. He was en route home when his pickup truck jumped a curb and struck the bicyclist on Lampson Avenue near Seal Beach Boulevard.

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