Repeat felon from Fresno gets prison for killing motorcycle passenger, fleeing police
A 37-year-old Fresno man with a lengthy criminal history was sentenced to 12 years in prison Wednesday for killing his passenger in a motorcycle crash that flung her body 400 feet.
Prosecutors say Cline Garner III was being pulled over by the Fresno County Sheriff’s on July 2, 2019 at about 4:45 a.m. when he took off. Witnesses said he reached speeds of up to 100 mph as he flew southbound Palm Avenue.
Garner crashed into a center median, launching himself and his passenger Gaylene Herrera, 46, off the bike.
Prosecutor Steven Ueltzen said the impact caused Herrera to be tossed more than 400 feet, killing her.
Garner, who was also seriously injured, was taken to the hospital, where he recovered.
Garner pleaded no contest to a charge of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and evading an officer. The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office dropped a charge of possession of a controlled substance.
His defense attorney Maribel Romo said he was facing 15 years before he agreed to a plea deal.
During Garner’s sentencing hearing before Judge Samuel J. Dalesandro Jr., Ueltzen urged the judge to give Garner the maximum sentence of 12 years.
“And this is not the defendant’s first time in a pursuit with police officers,” Ueltzen said “In fact, this would be his ninth and tenth felony conviction in his lifetime.”
Dalesandro agreed that Garner’s criminal history was lengthy and his actions were egregious.
Ueltzen said he reached out to Hererra’s family but they chose not to attend the sentencing hearing.
This story was originally published June 1, 2022 at 4:00 PM.
