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Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: Jessicah Louise Cowan

Woman who killed a little girl in Santa Ana in a DUI crash gets 22 years to life in prison

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 12CF1907

Date: July 15, 2016

DRUNKEN DRIVER SENTENCED TO 22 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR MURDERING 6-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND INJURING SISTER AND MOTHER BY DRIVING THROUGH RED LIGHT AND CRASHING INTO VICTIMS IN CROSSWALK

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A drunken driver was sentenced today to 22 years to life in state prison for murdering a 6-year-old girl and severely injuring the child’s sister and mother by crashing into them in a crosswalk after driving through a red light. Jessicah Louise Cowan, 37, Lake Hughes, was found guilty by a jury on April 15, 2016, of one felony count each of murder, vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated, hit and run with permanent injury or death, hit and run with injury, two felony counts of driving under the influence causing bodily injury, two felony counts of driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more causing bodily injury, and an infraction for possession of marijuana while driving. Allegations and sentencing enhancements for causing bodily injury to Eloisa M. and Grisea M., having a blood alcohol content of .20 percent or more, fleeing the scene of a vehicular manslaughter, and causing great bodily injury were found true. Continue reading→

Woman convicted of murdering a 6-year-old Santa Ana girl in a DUI accident

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 12CF1907

Date: April 15, 2016

DRUNKEN DRIVER CONVICTED OF MURDERING 6-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND INJURING SISTER AND MOTHER BY DRIVING THROUGH RED LIGHT AND CRASHING IN CROSSWALK

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A drunken driver was convicted today of murdering a 6-year-old girl and severely injuring the child’s sister and mother by crashing into them in a crosswalk after driving through a red light. Jessicah Louise Cowan, 37, Lake Hughes, was found guilty by a jury today, April 15, 2016, of one felony count each of murder, vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated, hit and run with permanent injury or death, hit and run with injury, two felony counts of driving under the influence causing bodily injury, two felony counts of driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more causing bodily injury, and an infraction for possession of marijuana while driving. Allegations and sentencing enhancements for causing bodily injury to Eloisa M. and Grisea M., having a blood alcohol content of .20 % or more, fleeing the scene of a vehicular manslaughter, and causing great bodily injury were found to be true. Cowan faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison at her sentencing on June 10, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-35, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Continue reading→

DUI driver facing a murder trial for killing a 5-year-old girl in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Accidents, Alcohol, OCDA, Santa Ana 1 Comment

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 12CF1907

Date: April 1, 2016

DRUNKEN DRIVER TO FACE TRIAL FOR MURDERING 5-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND INJURING SISTER AND MOTHER BY DRIVING THROUGH RED LIGHT AND CRASHING IN CROSSWALK

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A drunken driver is scheduled to face trial on Monday for murdering a 5-year-old girl and severely injuring the child’s sister and mother by crashing into them in a crosswalk after driving through a red light. Jessicah Louise Cowan, 37, Lake Hughes, is charged with one felony count each of murder, vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated, hit and run with permanent injury or death, hit and run with injury, two felony counts of driving under the influence causing bodily injury, two felony counts of driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more causing bodily injury, and an infraction for possession of marijuana while driving. Cowan also faces allegations and sentencing enhancements for causing bodily injury to Eloisa M. and Grisea M., having a blood alcohol content of .20 % or more, fleeing the scene of a vehicular manslaughter, and causing great bodily injury. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison. Opening statements are scheduled to begin Monday, April 4, 2016, at 9:15 a.m. in Department C-35, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Continue reading→

City Council to honor Jimenez for stopping alleged DUI hit and run driver

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Crime, Latinos, Public Safety, Santa Ana 2 Comments

When Santa Ana resident Beatriz Jimenez saw alleged DUI driver Jessica Louise Cowan plow through the Meza family, last Saturday morning, killing 5-year-old Osmara Meza, she had to make a quick decision.  She wanted to stop to help, but she saw that Cowan wasn’t stopping, so she pursued her and ended up using her car to block Cowan’s escape, over at Main and 17th.

Jimenez is still having nightmares about what happened.  And she is coming to terms with the fact that she is now a hero.  Santa Ana Council Member Michele Martinez posted today on her Facebook page that she and Santa Ana Council Member Vincent Sarmiento will be honoring Jimenez at the next Santa Ana City Council meeting. Continue reading→

DUI driver charged with murdering 5-year-old girl and injuring her family

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Courts, Crime, Latinos, Marijuana, Orange County, Public Safety, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Jessicah Louise Cowan, Booking Photo

Orange County District Attorney Press Release
For Immediate Release: June 26, 2012
Contacts: Susan Kang Schroeder, Chief of Staff, Office: 714-347-8408, Cell: 714-292-2718
Farrah Emami, Spokesperson, Office: 714-347-8405, Cell: 714-323-4486

DRUNKEN DRIVER CHARGED WITH MURDERING 5-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND INJURING SISTER AND MOTHER BY DRIVING THROUGH RED LIGHT AND CRASHING IN CROSSWALK

SANTA ANA – A drunken driver was charged today with murdering a 5-year-old girl and severely injuring the child’s sister and mother by crashing into them in a crosswalk after driving through a red light. Jessicah Louise Cowan, 33, Lake Hughes, is charged with one felony count each of murder, driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury, driving with a blood alcohol level over .08 percent causing bodily injury, hit and run causing injury, an infraction for possession of marijuana while driving, and sentencing enhancements and allegations for having a blood alcohol level over .20 percent and causing bodily injury. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison. The People will be requesting Cowan be held on $1 million bail at her arraignment today, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined. Continue reading→

Mother and sister of 5 yr. old hit and run victim remain critical

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Charities, Crime, Drugs, Marijuana, Santa Ana 10 Comments

UPDATE: The mother and sister of 5 year old hit and run victim Osmara Meza remain hospitalized, in critical condition, according to KTLA News.

UPDATE: The Santa Ana Police Foundation has set up a page on our website so that donations can be taken for the family. http://www.sapdf.org/tragedy/ We are a 501(c)3 so your donations are likely tax deductible.

Police have identified a child killed in a hit-and-run collision in Santa Ana this weekend as five-year-old Osmara Meza, according to NBC News. Continue reading→