After meeting with their attorneys for half an hour, defendants Claudia Cabrera and Josue Luna entered pleas of "no contest" to the charges stemming from the March 29, 2009 hit-and-run that left Adrianna Bachan dead and Marcus Garfinkle seriously injured.

This precludes the need for a trial and moves the case directly to the sentencing phase. Sentencing was scheduled for May 24 at 8:30 a.m. in Department 104, Judge Robert Perry's courtroom. 

Cabrera admitted to misdemeanor charges of leaving the scene of accident and inflicting great bodily injury on Garfinkle, as well as the more serious charge of vehicular manslaughter.  Luna admitted guilt to the lesser charges.

Perry explained that the court had made no promises as to sentencing as it accepted Cabrera and Luna's pleas.

Cabrera faces a maximum of eight years in state prison, while Luna, who was not charged with vehicular manslaughter, faces seven years.  The two may also be required to pay financial restitution to the victims' families.

Cabrera's attorney Arash Hashemi said the no contests, which act as guilty pleas for sentencing purposes, confirmed his contention that the hit-and-run was an accident.

"There's no point in going through a trial," he said. "Everybody knows it was an accident."

Hashemi will seek a two-year sentence for Cabrera.

Mother Carmen Bachan, who wept softly during the hearing, said she was relieved to avoid the pain of a trial.  However, she will not be content unless Cabrera and Luna get considerable sentences for their part in the death of her daughter Adrianna.

"The sentencing has to be good," Bachan said. "It can't just be a [slaps wrist].  It has to be good."