Woman Convicted of Hit and Run in Connection With Death of Popular Skateboarder in Mendocino
Press release from the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office:
A Mendocino County judge on Thursday convicted a Fort Bragg woman of a felony in the 2019 death of a young skateboarder.
Gina Rae Bean, 43, was found guilty after a trial in front of Presiding Judge Ann Moorman. Bean was convicted of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in the death of another person, a felony violation. The state Vehicle Code mandates that the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in the injury or death of a person must immediately stop the vehicle and render aid including summoning emergency help. State law also requires a driver to report the accident without delay to the nearest law enforcement agency.
Criminal charges accused Bean of failing on the night of July 18, 2019, to stop, render aid, or notifying law enforcement of an accident on Highway 1 at the intersection with Little Lake Road. Calum Pulido was skateboarding with a friend at about 10:45 p.m. He was heading west on Little Lake Road when he was struck and killed by a northbound vehicle driven by Bean.
Court proceedings were delayed for a year because of a variety of reasons including COVID restrictions. Eventually Bean and her private attorney waived her right to a jury trial and agreed to [be] tried before Presiding Judge Ann Moorman in Mendocino County Superior Court. The court trial began on Sept. 20 and over a total of five days prosecution and defense witnesses testified in front of Judge Moorman.
Bean testified on her own behalf at the court trial. Judge Moorman heard final arguments on Tuesday and took the case under submission. She announced the guilty verdict on Thursday.
Sentencing of Bean is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 3.
Bean faces up to four years in state prison. Bean also could be placed on supervised probation for no more than two years. Under law, however, Bean must serve county jail time. With credits, Bean could serve between 45 and 180 actual days in jail.
The California Highway Patrol and the state Department of Justice crime laboratories in Eureka and Sacramento developed evidence after the vehicle involved in the fatal accident was found hidden, and already under repair.
District Attorney investigators assisted prosecutor Eloise Kelsey in the trial preparation and developing additional evidence.
Judge Moorman found co-defendant, Ricky Faustino Santos, 37, also of Fort Bragg, was not guilty of being an accessory after the fact. Santos faces no further court proceedings.
Update: Convicted Hit & Run Driver Sentenced to 210 Days After Violating Probation, Says Mendo DA
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
Sounds like the Marcia Kitchen school of justice. When will lawmakers put in an exponentially greater sentence for hit and run, especially when coverup actions are involved. People like this don’t deserve to spend another day of freedom, ever.
Welcome to this side of the two tier “justice” system. You know, the side feminists never complain about.
Hit someone and leave the scene and only serving a few months in jail? Possibly only 45 days? This system is sickening..
45 days in jail to run over and kill someone ( a child)?! Wow I did not know that life was so meaningless these days!!
Looks like she got away with murder
I guess the takeaway is that if you were drunk driving you should immediately flee the scene? This is what the courts are basically instructing us to do?! Let’s hope she gets far more than 45 days. The local epidemic of hit and runs needs to be stopped.
Really ? Depends on the circumstances of the collision.
Skateboarder riding down the wrong way on the street in the dark ?
Skateboarder cut across an intersection ?
Was she or the skateboarder drunk/stoned ?
I dunno.
The circumstances are that she fled the scene and was having her ride repaired on the downlow. She is a piece of shit and should be locked up for far more than 45 days.
The Press Release was poorly written. You don’t need to be an English Major, obviously, to be a law officer. Jail time and prison time are different. The perp faces 4 years at final sentencing. Legal status of the decedent does not pertain at time of accident. The driver MUST stop, render assistance, call for help. and let facts get sorted out.
Are you suggesting that the driver decides if the injured person is worth stopping for? Really? Wow, man, stupid kid was in my way so I just left. Cool, huh? Works for me.
I’m with you on this one each case is unique and ppl are so quick to cast immediate blame on a person with very little info …. I just read this article and it is very one sided on the info it’s offering the writer defiantly left out some very important (and proven) facts that if ppl reading knew they may not feel the way they do about this case… it’s a very sad situation… 2 lives were lost that night …. To be very clear …. I was the skateboarders friend … he was one of a kind and I miss him but he was always playing Russian roulette at that intersection …. It was bound to happen eventually … it could have been anyone that travels that road regularly.. I don’t have anger towards this lady in fact my heart goes out to her…
To be clear, this is not an article written by a reporter. This is information presented by the Mendocino County DA’s office which obviously has a point of view.
How is everyone’s reading comprehension so bad. 45 to 180 day in jail is in addition to 4 years in prison
I read that she could get as little as 45 days in county jail after adjusting for however many days she’s been in there already. The article is written poorly I’ll say that. I remember this situation and the community’s grief at how somebody could just leave the kid to die and then go hide. Disgusting and sub-human behavior. Then there was a long period where it was known who she was and yet MCSD refused to arrest her- much gossip going on about who she was and why she was protected. Which is why now people might expect she will get the minimum sentence…memories of the Marci Kitchener case hang heavy on our collective sense of justice
Marci was still talking about the “deer” she hit on her sentencing date. Absolutely, totally appalling for someone seeking mercy and forgiveness. Skated like Hans Brinker on his silver skates. Totally bamboozled her psychiatric team.
‘sentenced to four years’ and with credits will probably serve 45-180 actual days in jail.
Yes, she HAS NOT been sentenced yet. Not 45 days.
Sentenced for up to four years.
Seems only one person’s reading comprehension is that bad, as that is not what it says. It says that the low end of her sentence could be 2 years probation and 45 days in jail.
That is not what it said it said a possibility of four years but maybe only two years supervised so house arrest, But that she will have to do 45 to 180 days in county jail. She hit the kid left him where he laid went and got her car hidden and was fixing it and tried to hide what she had done
Actually while this may have been tragic. The truth that isn’t being reported is that the driver was struck by the skateboarder. the deceased ran through a intersection on a state highway at approximately 40 mph in the dark approx 10:30pm. When you know the truth it changes the narrative
Ya and he ran a red light her light was green and he hit the side of her car .. this is all in the court reports… some ppl need to better inform themselves before they start throwing blame
My sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the skater.
Now, as a skater myself, since the early 1970s, I have to say, “Skate or die, dude!” And when I say RIP, I mean shred. I only hope I go out doing something I love (not counting a dumbass driver). But at my age, I’ll probably just get hurt doing what I love and die in bed while recovering.
Once again, my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the skater. The Marci Kitchen’s of the world will get their Karma ten fold.
There is a legal system and a justice system, they are not the same..
Rest in paradise Calum
Probly the only comment with any merit in this thread
Ps. I never met Calum but I know his family. RIP.
Mendocino County judges morally bankrupt an ethically corrupt. Terrible to be involved with any cases recently the same old tired situations recycled over and over. Our court needs a little modern-day overhauls, start making some change instead of the same old game. Disgusting.
This was a bad scene all along. I still wonder why he was skateboarding across hwy 1 in the middle of the night. Not being there I can’t picture the scenario.There is also a stop light there.If he was hit at the intersection it just doesn’t make sense.
Because he didn’t stop at the intersection and slammed into the side of her truck at approx 40mph