April 8, 2018 a hit/run driver killed Taylor White, a 21 y.o. GCU student that was jogging in a crosswalk.
Three years later, a driver was arrest on susp of 2nd degree murder (and presumably, leaving the scene of a fatal). There is much that is not said in the news article. 2nd degree murder indicates police believe they can prove the driver not only caused the crash that resulted (it was in a crosswalk, so that’s probably covered), but that the driver was doing something particularly reckless at the time — normally the only thing that will ever rise to that level is intoxication. The article says nothing about why he was charged that way.
This wouldn’t be the first time diligent policework led to a driver’s hit-and-run arrest much later, see e.g. hit-and-run-and-good-old-fashioned-policework/
Parents of GCU student killed in 2018 hit-and-run talk about 2 arrests
Phoenix police say they’ve made arrests in the hit-and-run death of a Grand Canyon University student three years ago.
… Adrian Favela, 29, is facing a charge of second-degree murder. Barringtina Mathis, also 29, is facing charges of obstruction of an investigation and tampering with evidence…
“We always had our eye on them,” Lt. Leif Myers said of Favela and Mathis. “We had some new advancements this year in technology. … We were always missing a couple of pieces.” Myers also said a key witness came forward last week were essential. Those two elements, combined with forensic evidence, tied it all up. “It made it a concrete case.”
Myers did not elaborate on the new technology that helped with the case, but said it will be part of the investigators’ toolbox going forward.
“We’re going to be using it on every hit-and-run case from here on out,” he said.
Some tantalizing tidbits… new technology?
Criminal case
A 29 y.o. Adrian Favela has a couple of thing prior listed on caselookup, including a criminal speeding charge from November 2018.
M-0747-TR-2018022813 ADRIAN MANUEL FAVELA DEFENDANT 05/1991 GLENDALE, AZ 85301 Glendale Municipal, 007C18007332 1 EXCEED 85 MPH 1/14/2019 PLEA GUILTY/RESP SENT IMPOSED
The indictments for this incident came down in mid-April 2021.
The other defendant is part of the same case has forgery and tampering charges against her, presumably regarding the hit and run; these are low-level felonies (F4 and F6). The driver’s charge is only hit-and-run causing death, a theoretically very serious felony (F2) but as we’ve seen rarely nets much punishment. There is no homicide or murder charge.
History: superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/CriminalCourtCases/caseInfo.asp?caseNumber=CR2021-000840 Minutes: www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/JONamesearch.asp?casenumber=CR2021000840
Crash Report
Also, i don’t know why but I can’t locate the crash in ADOT records(?), it pops right up in FARS searched by exact date 2018-04-08 [40325 20:21 PHOENIX ,AZ CAMELBACK RD / 31ST AVE]
PEDCTYPE: 770 'Motorist Failed to Yield'
PEDLOC: 1
PEDPOS: 2
PEDDIR: 3
MOTDIR: 4
MOTMAN: 3
PEDLEG: 2
PEDSNR: 3b 'Motorist traveling straight through - Crash Occurred on Far Side of Intersection / Pedestrian within crosswalk area, traveled from motorist’s right'
PEDCGP: 750 'Crossing Roadway - Vehicle Not Turning'
Adrian Favela was sentenced 6 years in April 2022 for hit-and-run killing of a jogger in April 2018 near GCU
https://www.azfamily.com/2022/03/25/man-sentenced-6-years-2018-hit-and-run-that-killed-gcu-student/
Lots of questions remain, no detail in the news article. Including no mention of the driver’s CRIMINAL SPEEDING charge just a few months AFTER the fatal incident (i.e. while he was “on the lam”)
Here is Favela’s sentencing order:
https://courtminutes.maricopa.gov/viewerDoc.asp?sadID=135239
The other defendant’s, Barringtina Mathis, case (tampering, etc), got just some probation (lying/tampering is a low-risk crime for a criminal):
https://courtminutes.maricopa.gov/viewerDoc.asp?sadID=141283
I’d have to guess the huge disparity in sentences for hit-and-run killers in this case had to do with bad driving history(?), e.g. this character https://azbikelaw.org/barrows-neurologist-killed-by-hit-and-run-driver/ plead guilty to THE SAME charge (a class 2 felony) and was sentenced to a 45 DAYS in county lockup — and incidentally, after serving he was convicted of driving while he was on probation, and of course did not have a license, it’s revoked due to hit-run, and is an obvious probation violation… nothing became of that though(?). Curious.