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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A state appellate court panel Friday upheld the conviction of a man who unsuccessfully tried to withdraw his plea to murder and DUI charges in connection with a deadly crash in Norwalk.
The three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal found that Superior Court Judge Lee W. Tsao acted well within his discretion in finding that Austin Hunter Redden had "failed to meet his burden by clear and convincing evidence to show he entered his guilty pleas under mistake, ignorance or any other factor overcoming his exercise of free judgment."
Redden, now 25, was sentenced in February 2023 to 15 years to life in state prison in connection with the May 13, 2019, death of 20-year-old Jacob Scianni, a passenger in the Chevrolet Suburban that Redden was driving.
In its 22-page ruling, the appellate court panel noted that the judge said there was "certainly evidence of conscious disregard for human life" that nitrous oxide balloons were passed around the vehicle and that the defense had "not demonstrated good cause to withdraw the plea" after a four-day hearing.
"A video showed Redden with a balloon just in front of his lips as he lost control of the SUV," the justices added.
While being represented by defense attorney Carlo Spiga, Redden pleaded guilty in January 2022 to second-degree murder and driving under the influence causing injury.
Another attorney, Andrew Stein, subsequently filed a motion seeking to withdraw Redden's plea, contending that the defendant had received ineffective assistance of counsel from his prior attorney.
Deputy District Attorney Brittany Vannoy told the judge that Redden was speeding between 78 and 82 mph in a 35 mph zone when he struck the center divider, lost control of the SUV that crashed into a parked tow truck and flipped over.
Scianni, who was in the back seat, was thrown from the SUV and died at the scene. Two other passengers in the car were seriously injured.
The prosecutor contended that Redden was traveling at an "extreme" speed in a populated area and that he was using nitrous oxide while he was driving and had previously been warned that he could be charged with murder if someone was killed in a DUI-related crash.
Redden had a March 2017 conviction for DUI in Los Angeles County, along with a pending DUI case in Orange County at the time of the crash, according to the prosecutor.
Stein countered there was "no hard evidence" that Redden was under the influence at the time of the crash, adding, "That's why these cases are tried."
He said "pleading someone to life on these facts is unheard of," and called it a "very defensible" case.