Jury Convicts Rascon In Crash That Killed Young Boy

POSTED: 9:44 am MDT October 25, 2011
UPDATED: 6:05 pm MDT October 25, 2011

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The man accused of taking meth and sleeping pills, and then killing a baby boy in a car accident was found guilty on Tuesday.Ramon Rascon faced seven different charges, from homicide by vehicle to child abuse. He was convicted on five of those charges, including homicide by vehicle of DWI, negligent child abuse, aggravated DWI, reckless driving and great bodily injury by vehicle.Both the defense and prosecution rested on Monday. Jurors started deliberating late Monday afternoon and returned a verdict at about 3 p.m. Tuesday.Deputy District Attorney Lisa Trabaudo pleaded with the jury Monday to find Rascon guilty of killing young Brandon Lucero.“His hits of meth. His 55 mph up Constitution, a residential area, slamming into a bunch of cars. He is the guilty party,” she said.Trabaudo went over every detail of the May 2010 accident. She told the jury that Rascon was high on meth and Ambien when he slammed into a car carrying twins Brandon and Ryan Lucero. Not only did Brandon die, but Trabaudo said Rascon showed no remorse at the crime scene.“What they don't expect is for the man who caused this crash or the one who plowed into these people to say, ‘(expletive) you; (expletive) you, old man,’” she said. “You don’t curse at the man you just injured or curse at the grandfather of the child you just killed.”Closing arguments between the defense and the prosecution lasted for hours and the district attorney’s office said the defense brought no witnesses.The child's family said it has been tough coping with Brandon's death.The child's great grandfather, Richard Woodward, said Brandon's brother, Ryan, is now almost 3 years old and has learned to crawl and walk again, but he still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Woodward said his great grandson throws up when he hears loud noises."This doesn't make anything really any better. It's just the same, and a lot of sleepless nights," Woodward said.Woodward said Ryan also knows a part of him is missing."The twin bond, that's a real thing. It's really there, and he can sense the loss in missing his brother, Brandon," Woodward said.

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