Eligible for parole after fatal DUI conviction, Clovis woman to stay in prison, Newsom says

Gov. Gavin Newsom has reversed a parole board decision that would have freed a Clovis woman serving 15-years-to-life in prison for a deadly DUI crash.

In March, the board voted to release Perla Vazquez on parole.

Vazquez was arrested in 2011 and eventually found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Frank Winslow in 2014.

Vazquez was also found guilty of felony hit and run and driving on a suspended license. She had two other drunk driving convictions at the time of the crash.

The governor’s decision on Aug. 26 came at the urging of the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office and the family of the late Winslow, according to a statement from the DA Lisa Smittcamp’s office sent Tuesday.

In a letter explaining the reversal, Newsom acknowledge that Vazquez had “faced adverse childhood experiences that shaped her life and choices,” and that she had made efforts to improve herself in prison, including participation in self-help programming and a drunk driving prevention group, enrolling in college courses and working as a certified peer mentor.

“However, these factors are outweighed by negative factors that demonstrate she remains unsuitable for parole at this time,” Newsom wrote.

Vazquez has remained sober while in prison, “but that does not translate to sobriety in a less controlled and structured environment,” Nerwsom wrote, quoting a psychologist who has evaluated Vazquez.

“I commend Ms. Vazquez and encourage her to continue on this positive path. I have concluded, however, that Ms. Vazquez must do additional work to shore up these gains before she can be safely released,” Newsom wrote.