People v. Germany CA3

BACKGROUND

Just before 3:00 a.m. one day in February 2022, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer found Germany trapped in the driver’s seat of a “wrecked” BMW near a highway on-ramp. He appeared dazed, was bleeding from significant facial lacerations, and seemed to be calling out to his two cousins, who had died in the crash. A blood test revealed Germany had a blood-alcohol level of approximately 0.27—more than three times the legal limit. In an October 2022 amended information, Germany was charged with two counts of second degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) and two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated (§ 191.5, subd. (a)). The information also alleged that Germany had prior driving under the influence (DUI) convictions in 2013 and 2021 for unlawfully driving a vehicle with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more (Veh. Code, § 23152, subd. (b)), and further alleged that Germany had a 1998 robbery

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 conviction (§ 211), a serious felony within the meaning of California’s “Three Strikes” law (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12). In March 2023, Germany made his first unsuccessful request to…