A former LAPD officer accused of slamming into another vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol — killing all the passengers inside — pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of murder, prosecutors said.
Edgar Verduzco, 34, also pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and one count of driving with a 0.08% blood-alcohol content causing injury, according to the L.A. County district attorney’s office.
He faces three concurrent terms of 15 years to life in state prison, as well as one concurrent term of three years, authorities said.
Verduzco, of Santa Ana, was arrested in April 2018 — roughly seven months after authorities say he sped his Chevy Camaro into the rear of a Nissan while driving drunk south on the 605 Freeway in Whittier.
Verduzco, who was off duty, was driving at a speed of 150 mph, according to the district attorney’s office.
The Nissan burst into flames. The three occupants — Mario Davila, 60; his wife, Maribel Davila, 52; and their son Oscar Davila, 19 — died in their vehicle.
Verduzco’s vehicle continued on and hit a second car, injuring the driver, a mother and her baby in a car seat, authorities said.
Just hours before the crash, Verduzco allegedly posted an Instagram video from a bar with the message “#dontdrinkanddrive,” KTLA reported.
In 2019, Verduzco pleaded not guilty to the murder charges and related offenses stemming from the crash. He was a police officer at the time of the crash but has since been relieved of duty, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
“As a police officer, Mr. Verduzco was aware that recklessly driving under the influence of alcohol at 150 miles per hour was extremely dangerous to human life and could result in the death of innocent victims, as it tragically did in this case,” L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a statement.
“Oscar Davila, a beloved student at UC Riverside, was just 19 years old, and his life and his parents’ lives were senselessly taken in an instant,” he continued. “My support and sympathy go out to the Davila family’s loved ones, including Oscar’s four surviving siblings.”
Verduzco is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown L.A.
