STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) -- A man given two months of freedom to complete an alcohol-abuse program before going to jail for his fourth drunken driving conviction is charged with driving drunk again and killing a 5-year-old boy in an accident.
Manuel Castillo, 39, faces charges of murder, felony drunken driving and driving on a suspended license after the two-car collision last weekend that killed Manuel Saenz.Manuel's funeral was being held Friday at his home in Sacramento.
The boy's mother, Masako Saenz, 25, was so upset that she burst out screaming "Murderer! Murderer! You killed my son!" and had to be removed from Castillo's arraignment Tuesday, prosecutor Dorothy Klishevich said.
"He should have been off the streets," said Bobby Argo, Saenz's longtime friend and Manuel's godmother.
In February, Castillo was convicted of his fourth drunken driving in two years. Judge John Cruikshank gave him until May 8 to settle his affairs and complete the alcohol abuse treatment program before his 240-day term in the San Joaquin County Jail.
The judge has not returned several phone calls. Castillo, now in jail, also refused to talk.
The accident happened last Saturday as Saenz and her son began their hourlong trip south to Stockton to pick up Manuel's uncle for a family Easter celebration the next day.
But a seat belt and the relative safety of the back seat didn't protect the boy when Castillo allegedly made an illegal left turn in his Ford Ranger and collided with the smaller Toyota Tercel.
Castillo is due in court on May 2 to set a date for his preliminary hearing. If convicted, he could face 15 years to life in prison.