Drugged Driver Gets 17 Years for Killing Community Activist

DANA POINT, CA -- A 29-year-old Placentia man was sentenced today to 17 years to life in prison for a drug-fueled crash in Laguna Niguel that killed a woman walking a lost dog.

Adam Harrison Hall was convicted in February of second-degree murder for causing the Feb. 13, 2011, crash at Moulton Parkway and Nueva Vista Drive that killed Mara Lynnes Steves. Hall was also convicted of forgery of a prescription and two counts of obtaining or possessing drugs secured by a forged prescription, all felonies, as well as a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson rejected Hall's appeal for a "hybrid" sentence that would set a fixed time behind bars and include time in a drug rehabilitation facility and participation in programs raising awareness of the dangers of driving intoxicated.

Steves' daughter, son and husband tearfully told the judge how they came across the crash scene, which was near their home.

Hannah Steves told the judge that she has had to undergo counseling and take anti-anxiety medicine, and has grappled with suicidal feelings since her mother's death.

"It's difficult to say what the past two years have been like other than to say it's been an absolute hell," the high school student said.

"My mom was one of my best friends. I could tell her anything and she always had the right answer," Hannah Steves said. "I truly believe this man who killed my mother knows that my life is hell and I wish he felt the pain I feel every day for the rest of his life because it sucks."

The victim's husband, John Steves, said the couple had celebrated their wedding anniversary the day before and his wife was looking forward to her "favorite holiday," Valentine's Day the next day.

"I spent (Valentine's Day) picking out a grave marker for her," John Steves said.

When she met her husband, Mara Steves worked in a home for disabled adults. She was the president of the neighborhood's homeowners association and was a three-term PTA president.

"While I was at work all day she was a stay-at-home super mom," John Steves said. "The light of my life has gone out and I fumble in the darkness... I now get a sense of what an amputee feels."

Hall's two sisters and his mother told the judge how his father's suicide about eight years ago affected their family and led to his dependence on prescription drugs. The family, and a few of the defendant's friends, said Hall was a good person who made a bad choice as they pleaded for mercy.

Hall's mother, Beth, tearfully told John Steves that she understood the "pain and anger" resulting form the loss of a spouse as she apologized to the victim's family.

"I know the agony of suddenly being a single parent," Beth Hall said. "... Adam is a good man with high moral standards."

Adam Hall apologized to the victim's family and his own friends and relatives.

"I'm sorry to everybody," he said before reading a letter he wrote to the judge.

Hall said he has tried to warn fellow inmates in Orange County jail about the consequences of poor decisions, but his advice has "fallen on deaf ears." He argued he could better repay his debt to society outside the walls of prison and begged for a chance at redemption.

Deputy District Attorney Troy Pino noted that Hall was not only under the influence of prescription drugs at the time of the fatal crash, but also had methamphetamine in his system.

"Methamphetamine is not a prescription drug, it's a recreational drug," Pino said.

Hall can earn a chance at parole by his mid-40s, the prosecutor added.

"He could get out in his mid-40s and do all the things he says he wants to do," Pino said.

Hanson agreed and said Hall's decisions on the day of the crash were "selfish and senseless." The judge noted that Hall has received multiple second chances the two prior times he was convicted of driving under the influence and was warned by other judges that he could be charged with murder if he was behind the wheel during a deadly DUI crash. Hall was also ordered in those prior cases to attend panel discussions to hear the testimonials of victims of drunken driving collisions.

"If you had only listened to those victims at those (Mother's Against Drunk Driving) panels this didn't have to happen," Hanson said.

Hall was arrested as a juvenile for driving under the influence, Hanson said.

The judge also noted that while awaiting trial for the deadly DUI in Laguna Niguel he was arrested for obtaining prescription drugs illegally.

Hall's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Richard Cheung, and Pino agreed Hall was behind the wheel of a Ford Explorer that collided with another SUV.

The dispute in the trial was over Hall's claim that he was westbound on Nueva Vista Drive making a left turn when his vehicle was T-boned. Pino argued that the defendant was northbound on Moulton and T-boned another vehicle before careening into Mara Steves.

Hall pleaded guilty in March 2008 to misdemeanor driving under the influence related to an October 2007 collision and was sentenced to three years of informal probation.

On May 8, 2008, he was arrested again for driving under the influence and pleaded guilty that October to another misdemeanor DUI and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, five years of informal probation and was ordered to complete drug and alcohol programs.

Hall was speeding faster than 60 mph north on Moulton and ran the red light at Nueva Vista before the 2011 collision, Pino said. A blood test showed he had methamphetamine, valium and Xanax in his system, the prosecutor added.

Dr. Steven James, who was behind the wheel of the other vehicle involved in the crash, was eastbound on Nueva Vista, Pino said.

Steves, 48, who had been trying to find the owner of a stray Labrador retriever, was slammed into a block wall and died of her injuries. Veterinarians were able to save the dog, Max.

John Steves was making breakfast the morning of the crash and asked his wife to wait until they ate before trying to find the dog's owner. Mara Steves, however, said the dog's owner was likely very worried and she wanted to try to find them as soon as possible, John Steves said.

James suffered severe bruising in the crash and his passenger Anna Gaffney sustained a broken collarbone.

- City News Service