During his court-ordered DUI classes, Ever Olivos-Gutierrez said he learned “the worst possibility is someone could die.”
That knowledge, plus three prior DUI stops and a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit when he allegedly hit and killed a 17-year-old, are some of the reasons Arapahoe District Court Judge Marilyn Antrim ruled prosecutors can move forward in seeking a first-degree murder charge against Olivos-Gutierrez.
Olivos-Gutierrez, who has been living in the country illegally since 2004, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder with extreme indifference in the March death of Juan Carlos Dominguez-Palomino. The 40-year-old also faces seven additional counts, including vehicular homicide and reckless driving.
Colorado is one of four states that does not impose felony penalties for drunk driving.
Prosecutors do not allege that Olivos-Gutierrez intended to kill Dominguez-Palomino. During a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, they argued he had a reasonable knowledge that driving drunk put the lives of others in danger, but he was indifferent to those risks.
Defense attorneys argued that Olivos-Gutierrez was immediately remorseful, and too drunk at the time of the crash to understand his actions. They said he didn’t intend to hurt anyone.
Shortly after midnight on March 24, Aurora Police Sgt. Brandon Samuels saw Olivos-Gutierrez race down eastbound on East Colfax Avenue so fast he originally suspected someone must have been chasing him. Samuels estimated the Ford Expedition was traveling 70 to 80 mph as it cruised through red lights on Colfax Avenue.
Samuels could not catch up to the SUV after five blocks and he never saw Dominguez-Palomino’s blue Chevrolet Camaro pull onto Colfax from Dayton Street, he said. He heard the sound of “screeching tires” and “crushing metal,” but all he saw was a cloud of debris in the intersection.
When he reached the site, the Camaro was half its originally size.
Dominguez-Palomino died in his car.
On Wednesday, Dominguez-Palomino’s mother, Blanca Palomio, quietly wiped away tears as Samuels described the collision. Olivos-Gutierrez stared at the floor.
Aurora Police Officer Jeff Olson was the first person to have contact with Olivos-Gutierrez, who was moving around inside the SUV. As he pulled the battered driver out of the passenger side door, Olivos-Gutierrez looked at him and said in slurred words, “I’m drunk,” Olson said.
Hours later, Olivos-Gutierrez repeated that statement to Officer Ryan Marker at the hospital. Later that night Olivos-Gutierrez told Marker, “I made a mistake. I want to die.”
Olivos-Gutierrez is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 22, at which time he is expected to enter a plea.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794, jsteffen@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jsteffendp