Case # 16HF1046
Date: December 12, 2016
DRUNKEN, SPEEDING DRIVER CONVICTED OF MURDERING SLEEPING MAN BY CRASHING INTO HOUSE WITH CAR
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A drunken, speeding driver was convicted today of murdering a sleeping man by crashing into the victim’s bedroom with his car. Kourosh Keshmiri, 30, Mission Viejo, was found guilty by a jury one felony count of murder. The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison at his sentencing on Feb. 10, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-44, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Keshmiri is charged in a separate case (Case #13HF3788) from June 2013 with one misdemeanor count each of driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol with a prior, driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent or more with a prior, and sentencing enhancements and allegations for having a blood alcohol over .15 percent and having a prior DUI conviction from 2010. He is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on the same date as his sentencing for Case #16HF1046.
When the defendant was convicted of DUI in 2010, he was advised that he could be charged with murder if he killed a person while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
At approximately 3:00 a.m. on Dec. 29, 2013, Keshmiri was speeding over 86 mph in a 25 mph residential neighborhood in Mission Viejo. He lost control of his car and crashed into a home, driving into the front bedroom where 60-year-old victim Kenneth Jackson was sleeping in his bed.
When Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) deputies arrived, the defendant displayed objective signs of intoxication and performed poorly on a field sobriety test.
The victim died as a result of his injuries.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.