On November 28, 2005, Tulare County Superior Court Judge Valeriano Saucedo sentenced 49-year-old Mike Paiz, Jr. of Visalia to 17 years to life in state prison for killing 49-year-old Jose Prado of Farmersville in a DUI crash that occurred at 4:00 pm on August 23, 2004 at the intersection of Visalia Road (Ave 280) and Mariposa Avenue (Road 156), just west of Farmersville. A jury convicted Paiz of Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated after being presented at trial with two completely contrary and irreconcilable versions of how the collision occurred. However, the jury was persuaded by prosecution evidence that showed that Mr. Paiz was traveling eastbound on Visalia Road and attempted a left turn directly in front of the path of Mr. Prado’s westbound truck, which was traveling at 55 mph, resulting in a virtual head-on, high-speed collision. Mr. Prado was pronounced dead at the scene. Both drivers were traveling alone. Evidence showed Paiz’s blood alcohol content to be .20% - two and a half times the legal limit - at the time of the crash.


Due to an erroneous eyewitness report at the time of the crash, the defendant was not originally charged with causing Mr. Prado’s death and was facing only three years in prison. That mistaken account was the only one presented to police at the time of the crash. However, a long-time best friend of the victim, Rudy Suarez, conducted what amounted to be his own investigation and located an eyewitness some two months later that had left the scene at the time of the crash before police had arrived. Based on this new evidence, the California Highway Patrol re-opened their investigation and concluded that Mr. Paiz had in fact caused the collision which killed Mr. Prado. The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office amended the charges against Mr. Paiz and the case went to trial. Testimony included Mr. Prado’s wife who told of the devastation her husband’s death has had on her, their 12-year-old daughter, and their 19-year-old son. Rob Krider, a CHP expert in accident reconstruction, also testified that the collision could not have occurred the way it was originally reported.

Mr. Paiz had six prior DUI convictions, one of which was a felony conviction in 1999 in which his own children were injured. Evidence at the trial also showed that at the time of this crime, Mr. Paiz was out on bail for a DUI arrest in Exeter on March 25, 2004, less than 5 months before killing Mr. Prado. An Exeter police officer testified that the defendant’s blood alcohol content in that incident was .30%, almost four times the legal limit, and that the defendant was swerving on the roadway at 2:25 pm before making a U-turn that caused another motorist to slam on its brakes to avoid a collision.

Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated is normally punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison. However, due to the prior DUI convictions, the law mandates a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. An additional two years was added for being out on bail at the time.



The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Mike Moberly and District Attorney investigator Kevin Bohl from the Felony DUI unit.

Contact Person: Assistant District Attorney Carol Turner, 733-6411