TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The 19 year old man charged with three manslaughter counts in the hit and run deaths of three University of Arizona students had his first appearance in Superior Court Monday. Louis John Artal was formally informed of the charges against him.
Louis John Artal stood with his attorney and calmly answered questions from the Judge. Judge Clayton Kamm entered a not guilty plea for Artal. That’s routine at this early stage of a case.
Artal has been free on a quarter million dollar cash bond since late last week.
He had been jailed since the end of October when he turned himself in after the crash that killed UA students Sophia Troetel, Josiah Santos, and Katya Castillo-Mendoza.
Their relatives were in court for Artal’s appearance. Some cried as the hearing went on.
A Maricopa County Prosecutor is handling the case. The Pima County Attorney’s Office has a conflict because Troetel had been a Victim Services volunteer for the office
We know detectives have executed a search warrant on Louis John Artal’s car.
It is standard for detectives in a death by vehicle case to tap into the car’s computer. The electronics in most modern cars can report on how hard the driver was stepping on the gas or the brakes, and sometimes record steering wheel movements.
Artal is due back in court for a status conference December 18th.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
