Man sentenced in fatal summer crime spree

A man who admitted stealing two vehicles last summer, crashing both and killing a man in the process was sentenced Tuesday to more than 17 years in state prison.

Joseph Wesley Reagan, 28, pleaded no contest in November to gross vehicular manslaughter in connection with a June 4 accident that left a Lindsay man dead. He originally faced charges linked to the death of Jose Manzo, 32, of Lindsay.

Prosecutor Samantha Arnerich said the outcome was best for all parties concerned, in part because Reagan agreed not to appeal. That, she said, allows Manzo’s family to have closure.

“We think it’s what’s best for the family,” Arnerich said. “He basically got the maximum sentenced allowed by law.”

Reagan stole two vehicles that day in June, crashing both.

He was on probation last summer when he ran a red light at Highway 65 and Hermosa Street and crashed a stolen Dodge Durango into Manzo’s vehicle.

The crash left two others injured.

Slightly injured himself, Reagan was seen hobbling away from the crash scene and, about six hours later, reportedly broke into a Lindsay home and stole another car, a 2006 Pontiac Grand Am.

Reagan in court acknowledged crashing the Pontiac into a U.S. Forest Service fire truck later that day on Highway 190 near Balch Park Road north of Springville. He also admitted he was high on drugs that day.

“He was under the influence of methamphetamine and had been under the influence of methamphetamine for several days,” Don Gallian, spokesman for the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, said Tuesday, citing court records.

Prior to sentencing, Manzo’s niece addressed the court, Arnerich said. The prosecutor then read letters from Manzo’s wife, from his mother and from his 9-year-old daughter’s third-grade teacher.

Gallian detailed the prison sentence by each offense:

-- Gross vehicular manslaughter — 10 years.

-- Having served a prior prison term — One year.

-- Felony hit-and-run causing great bodily injury — Three years.

-- Car theft — Eight months.

-- Two burglaries — One year, four months each.

-- Violation of probation — Two years.

Gallian said the two-year sentence for violating probation will be served concurrently to the 17 years and four months Reagan received for the other offenses.

Reagan’s driver’s license is also revoked for the remainder of his life, Gallian said. Reagan now has two felony strikes to his name.

“Any new felony and he’d be a third striker,” Gallian said.

Reagan was given credit for 250 days of time served since his arrest, which includes any adjustments for good behavior, Arnerich said. He must serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

He was sentenced in Dept. 2 of Tulare County Superior Court in Porterville. Judge Juliet Boccone presided.

-- Contact Glen Faison at 784-5000, Ext. 1040, or gfaison@portervillerecorder.com.