Man convicted of murder for Thanksgiving DUI crash in Fresno

A man was convicted of murder Tuesday for a DUI crash on Thanksgiving Day in 2010 that killed another man in Fresno, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office said.

Cesar Gonzalez Moreno already had a prior DUI conviction from 2009 when he caused two separate collisions on Highway 99 and Highway 180 as he drove through Fresno on Thanksgiving Day in 2010. He caused the accident that threw Eugenio Fuentes Ramirez and Petra Hilda Silvas from their vehicle, causing Ramirez’s death, the District Attorney’s Office said.

Moreno pleaded no contest to the murder charge, for a DUI causing injury charge and for a driving with a blood-alcohol content over the legal limit, the District Attorney’s Office said. In criminal cases, a no contest plea is the same as a guilty plea.

Moreno’s blood-alcohol level was nearly four times the legal limit of 0.08 percent at the time of his arrest, the District Attorney’s Office said.

Moreno faces up to 21 years to life in prison, and the judge indicated a sentence of at least 19 years and four months will be given when he is sentenced on Dec. 7.

This story was originally published October 18, 2016 at 8:13 PM with the headline "Man convicted of murder for Thanksgiving DUI crash in Fresno."