SENTENCING UPDATE 📣
The Honorable Judge John Brownlee sentenced Abel Rodriguez Almanza to 13 years in state prison for a violent road rage incident in which he forced a vehicle carrying two victims into a canal.
The sentencing follows a jury conviction last month, when Almanza was found guilty of two counts of Assault with a Deadly Weapon and one count of Reckless Driving. In a separate proceeding, the court found true that Almanza suffered a prior strike conviction for carjacking, qualifying him for an elevated sentence of 13 years.
The incident occurred on June 23, 2020, when Almanza pursued the victims, a married couple, for several miles after becoming enraged during a merge in traffic on Highway 99. After the initial confrontation, Almanza continued to follow the victims off the freeway and onto surface streets. During the pursuit, he aggressively targeted their vehicle and ultimately drove his SUV into the victims’ car as they attempted to make a lawful right turn onto South H Street in Bakersfield.
The impact caused the victims’ vehicle to lose control, cross multiple lanes of traffic, and enter a canal that was filled with water. The vehicle became partially submerged, and both occupants were forced to escape through rising water. Evidence presented at the jury trial showed that Almanza admitted to law enforcement that he was in “road rage mode” and that he struck the victims’ vehicle during the encounter.
The case was handled by Deputy DA Klaudine Waldersen.
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