DUI offender sentenced for murder in Fresno crash, DA says. It was his third arrest
A 35-year-old Fresno man with a history DUI arrests was sentenced on Tuesday for murder in a crash that killed his passenger.
Joey Barron, who pleaded guilty Aug. 6, was sentenced Tuesday by Judge Jonathan Conklin to 15 years to life in prison, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Because he had previously been convicted in a DUI case, he was subject to a murder charge in the Jan. 2, 2021, fatal crash, prosecutors said.
Barron had alcohol and marijuana in his system when he lost control of his car driving on Highway 168 near the Shields Avenue off-ramp, according to prosecutors.
Barron’s blood alcohol content was 0.32%, or four times the legal limit, when he made an unsafe turn about 12:30 a.m. and the car overturned before tumbling multiple times, the California Highway Patrol said.
The passenger, 30-year-old Andres Adrian Romero, was pronounced dead at the scene, CHP said.
Barron had a previous conviction for reckless driving involving alcohol in 2012, prosecutors said. He was also arrested for driving under the influence in 2016, but never appeared in court for that case before the 2021 crash, prosecutors said.
