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State’s high court won’t review case of man convicted in DUI crash that killed 2

by City News Service • March 23, 2016

Beau Fluker and Jeffrey Gilstrap
Beau Fluker and Jeffrey Gilstrap

LOS ANGELES – The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to review the case against a man sentenced to 30 years to life behind bars for a drunken driving crash in Lancaster that killed two young men on their way home from work.

In January, a three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense’s contention that there was insufficient evidence to support Tommie Lee Cole‘s conviction on two counts of second-degree murder stemming from the Feb. 26, 2012, crash that killed Beau Josh Owen Fluker and Jeffrey Daniel Gilstrap.

Fluker, 26, and Gilstrap, 23, were en route home after working late shifts at a Walmart store when their vehicle was broadsided at the intersection of Avenue J and 20th Street West just before 2:30 a.m. and came to rest atop a fire hydrant.

Tommie Lee Cole [Facebook photo]
Tommie Lee Cole [Facebook photo]
Cole — who was arrested for DUI in 2009 and attended an alcohol program for six months — had signed an acknowledgement that outlined the dangers of drinking and driving, including the possibility that he could be charged with murder if he killed someone while driving under the influence of alcohol.

“Defendant’s prior drunk driving offense, his blood-alcohol level and decision to drive while intoxicated, and his highly dangerous acts of speeding and attempting to ‘beat’ a yellow light are substantial evidence to support the jury’s conclusion that the subjective standard for implied malice was satisfied,” the appellate court panel noted in its Jan. 7 ruling.

Along with second-degree murder, Cole was convicted in February 2014 of two counts each of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count each of driving under the influence and driving with a 0.08 percent blood alcohol content.

Previous related story:

Murder conviction upheld in Lancaster crash that killed 2

Cole gets 30 years to life in DUI double death 

Tommie Cole convicted in DUI double murder

DUI double murder trial begins

Man ordered to trial in DUI double murder case

Hundreds say goodbye to Beau and Jeff

Man charged with murder in fatal DUI crash, bail set at $2 million

Family, coworkers remember men lost in alleged DUI crash

Alleged DUI driver kills two in Lancaster

–

Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

5 comments for "State’s high court won’t review case of man convicted in DUI crash that killed 2"

  1. Stella says

    March 27, 2016 at 1:14 am

    God help us all

  2. Danny says

    March 25, 2016 at 8:14 am

    Good he should rot their

  3. Zachary says

    March 24, 2016 at 12:15 pm

    You low life !! You killed my friend !! Straight a student that was picked on and never did anything wrong in his life is dead. Because some asshole couldn’t handle his liquor. That kid Jeffery Gilsrap would never drink or hurt anyone!!

  4. Flint says

    March 23, 2016 at 7:15 pm

    Sick of this white privilege! Oh wait.

    • Joe says

      March 25, 2016 at 6:06 pm

      Flint, if you don’t go along with their BS, you’re a racist or a bigot or whatever other label they want to try and shame you with. Invisible racism? Sounds an awful lot like religion, you have to take it on faith because it’s invisible, lol.

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