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P.G. teen charged for hosting party that led to DUI crash

By KELLY NIX

Published: July 16, 2010

A COURT hearing is set next week for a young Pacific Grove man charged with hosting an illegal party at his house just hours before police say one of the teen partygoers drove drunk and crashed an SUV into a tree, seriously injuring a 17-year-old girl.

Christopher Ray Veloz, Jr., 19, is charged with hosting a party where alcohol was consumed by minors. The count, which violates Pacific Grove’s municipal code, is a misdemeanor.

Veloz, who was arraigned June 24 in a Salinas and pleaded not guilty to the charge, faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted. A pretrial conference is set for July 22.

‘Beer pong’

Pacific Grove city attorney David Laredo alleges Veloz, the son of Seaside Police Cmdr. Chris Veloz, was hosting a party Feb. 21 at his Syida Drive home where P.G. High School senior Aaron Corn and other teens were present and drank beer.

The party occurred after a basketball game between Pacific Grove High and Carmel High, Laredo said.

“Some of the people who attended the game picked some people up went back to Veloz’ house, and that’s where the party went on,” Laredo said.

At some point, police contend Corn became drunk and then got into Veloz’s Toyota 4Runner with four other teens and left. Later, he crashed the SUV into a tree in Skyline Forest in Monterey. The only girl in the vehicle, Chelsie Hill, then 17, was paralyzed as a result of the accident. Corn and three other teen passengers received less serious injuries.

Veloz “willfully and unlawfully [hosted] a party with alcohol consumed by juveniles,” according to the one-page complaint filed in Monterey County Superior Court.

Laredo said every year Pacific Grove files charges against people who host parties where alcohol is consumed by minors. Usually, no one is injured.

“Typically, it’s prosecuted as an infraction, except when there is an egregious violation,” Laredo said. “On any given year, we have one or two [cases] that are egregious.”

The city’s case stands in stark contrast to an inquiry by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control which failed to determine who provided the teens with alcohol the night of the crash. “We conducted an investigation, and there was not enough evidence there to hold anyone accountable of furnishing alcohol to a minor,” ABC spokesman John Carr told The Pine Cone.

Veloz’s attorney, Susan Chapman, told The Pine Cone her client was cooperative with the Monterey Police Department during the investigation into who purchased the alcohol for the party.

“He was as helpful as possible from the get-go,” Chapman said. “Of all the people who were present [at the party], he was probably the least responsible.”

Chapman said she hopes the case will be dismissed once the facts come out in court. “He is a young man with no record, and he is a good kid,” Chapman said.

After the accident,Veloz told police he was awakened by a phone call from his father at about 4 a.m. who said his SUV had been involved in an accident. Veloz reported he did not give anybody permission to use his vehicle, nor did he know who took it.

Corn has been charged with drunken driving and enhancements, which include causing great bodily injury and paralysis. Corn is also charged with stealing the 4Runner.

Because of the enhancements, the drunken driving charges become “strike” offenses, according to Monterey County Deputy District Attorney Todd Hornick.

If convicted of each count and enhancement, Corn faces a maximum of more than 14 years in prison. His preliminary hearing was scheduled for July 9 but was postponed.