Murder trial ordered for man in deaths of girlfriend, unborn child

A Stanislaus County judge on Wednesday said there was sufficient evidence for a man to stand trial charged with murder in the deaths of his girlfriend and her unborn child.

Authorities say Demaria Harge, 25, of Fairfield was behind the wheel of a brown Lexus and driving faster than 100 mph when the car overturned along Interstate 5 near Westley. His girlfriend, 24-year-old Taylor Little of Rio Vista, died in the crash. She was seven months pregnant with Harge’s child.

Harge’s preliminary hearing concluded Wednesday with Superior Court Judge Rick Distaso’s ruling. He ordered Harge to stand trial on two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Little and her unborn child, Concietta Little.

Testimony in the hearing indicated Harge was drinking from a tequila bottle while driving that day and was slapping his girlfriend after she repeatedly warned him to slow down.

The fatal crash occurred April 24, 2014. Harge, Little and her friend, Cally Gregory, were heading north on Interstate 5 after a road trip to Southern California. Little’s mother called her daughter that day, and Little told her Harge was assaulting her. She asked her mom to call police.

Deputy District Attorney Anthony Colacito told the judge Harge knew his behavior was dangerous, but he didn’t seem to care. The prosecutor said the defendant was battering his girlfriend throughout the day and driving recklessly, and “he kicked it up a notch” after seeing a California Highway Patrol car pursuing him.

CHP Officer Jonathan Peregoy testified that he caught up to the Lexus, which sped up to 125 mph before veering to the right from the left lane. He said the Lexus cut off another vehicle before speeding down a ramp to the Howard Road/Ingram Creek Road exit. The Lexus then sideswiped a pickup before the car overturned onto its roof.

Carl Spiekerman, Harge’s Vallejo-based attorney, argued his client turned right at the first available freeway exit when he spotted the CHP car’s emergency lights following him. The defense attorney said “the consequences are horrific,” but Harge’s actions that day do not warrant murder charges.

The judge saw a video of the crash from the CHP car’s dashboard camera. “He made a very, very dangerous maneuver in trying to exit the freeway. He missed the offramp completely,” Distaso told the attorneys.

Along with the murder charges, Harge is accused of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, evading a police officer and driving under the influence causing injury.

Gregory testified that when Harge spotted the CHP patrol car, he said “Oh s---, I’m going to jail.” She said Harge then “slammed the pedal to the floor” and sped up.

The prosecutor said Harge has a history of Solano County arrests on suspicion of driving under the influence, speeding and evading police. None of the cases ended in convictions, because Harge failed to appear in court and face those charges. Colacito argued the defendant’s disregard for those charges showed his lack of concern for life while behind the wheel.

Spiekerman told Distaso he doesn’t see how failing to appear in court in other cases shows a careless disregard for someone’s life.

Jillian Evans, a criminalist at the state Department of Justice crime lab in Ripon, testified Wednesday that Harge’s blood alcohol content was 0.067 percent after the crash. The legal limit to drive is 0.08 percent.

Judge Distaso said the defendant will stand trial on the DUI charge, because Evans testified that it is too unsafe for most people to drive with a blood alcohol content of 0.05 percent and too unsafe for every driver with 0.08 percent. Evans said her opinion is based on extensive studies and analysis on the effects of alcohol on drivers.

The judge scheduled Harge to return to court July 20 for an arraignment hearing. The defendant remains held in the county jail. His bail is set at $2 million.

This story was originally published July 6, 2016 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Murder trial ordered for man in deaths of girlfriend, unborn child."