Teen Misdemeanor

P.G. host pleaded no contest to charge of underage drinking at party before car crash.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Months after five teens suffered a car crash while driving home from a Pacific Grove party, the party thrower, Christopher Ray Veloz, pleaded no contest on Sept. 28 to hosting a social gathering with underage drinking. Veloz was 19 at the time of the Feb. 21 party.

One of the teenage guests, Aaron Corn, left Veloz’s home with a carload of Pacific Grove high schoolers in Veloz’s Toyota 4Runner without the host’s permission. The car crashed in Skyline Forest in Monterey, injuring several passengers. One passenger, Chelsie Hill, became paralyzed from the waist down.

Judge Efren Iglesia sentenced Veloz to a six-month jail sentence for the misdemeanor, but the sentence will be suspended for one year. Come Sept. 23, 2011, if Veloz stays out of trouble, he can request that the charge be reduced to an infraction. He also must perform 40 hours of community service by Jan 7, 2011.

“The Judge’s sentence offers a just end to this part of an unfortunate and continuing tragedy,” says Pacific Grove City Attorney David Laredo. “We hope this result may dissuade others from taking similar risks.”

Corn, the driver of the car, is facing felony charges for causing grave bodily injury while driving under the influence of alcohol and taking a car without the owner’s permission. He is being held at the Monterey County Jail.