Attorney to serve at least six months

San Luis Obispo - A public defender hugged his crying wife and thanked a courtroom packed with peers Friday before a bailiff led him to jail.

A judge sentenced Luis Anthony Lucero, 47, of Los Osos to 180 days for his role in a drunken driving accident that seriously hurt an Atascadero man last January.

Lucero will be re-evaluated by the court next March to determine if he deserves another 180 days in jail.

As the victim, 50-year-old Randy Rutherford, sat in the audience, Lucero clutched a tissue at the defense table.

“Your Honor, I never thought I’d be in this position,” Lucero said quietly, as several supportive defense attorneys listened in the audience.

“I’m very sorry to Mr. Rutherford,” he added, accepting responsibility for his crime.

While his criminal case has concluded, Lucero is facing another day in court.

After the hearing, Rutherford’s attorney, James McKiernan, filed a $2.5 million suit against Lucero and a $1.5 million suit against his partner, Michael Adams. The suit alleges that Lucero should pay punitive damages for disregarding the safety of other drivers and that Adams failed to recognize the protection of a third party by offering to assist Lucero.

Adams, 50, of Atascadero was following his partner in another vehicle when the accident occurred. He was subsequently charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence.

“This is a tragic situation for all parties concerned, and now it is in the hands of the civil court — and ultimately in the hands of jurors — to decide what to do,” McKiernan said.

In Superior Court, Lucero attorney Barry Schiavo said he had never seen a more remorseful client.

Before the accident, Schiavo added, Lucero’s mindset was influenced by the recent death and funeral of his father.

“He was impaired all through that week,” Schiavo said. “He was impaired before he started to drink.”

Lucero had been drinking at a San Luis Obispo establishment Jan. 13 before he entered his Mercedes Benz and headed down Foothill Boulevard. After weaving along the road, he hit Rutherford’s El Camino head-on.

Rutherford suffered numerous injuries, including a broken shoulder, nose and wrist, a shattered kneecap, nerve damage and facial lacerations.

Because Lucero had two previous drunken driving convictions — from 1983 and 1984 — Deputy District Attorney Andy Cadena requested he receive a year in jail.

“One year in county jail doesn’t seem to be unreasonable for a third-time drunk driver,” Cadena told the court, adding that the current offense led to injuries.

Schiavo, who initially thought a 30- to 60-day sentence would have been appropriate, suggested the probation department’s recommendation for 270 days was unusually harsh because Lucero was an attorney. Judge Harry Woolpert interrupted Schiavo and said Lucero should have known better.

“Who knows better the dangers of driving under the influence than a criminal defense lawyer?” Woolpert posed.

The retired judge, who was assigned the case because current Superior Court judges have worked with Lucero, told the defendant his past should have prevented the current offense.

“I would have thought you would have learned your lesson in the 1980s, and those lessons would have been good enough for life.”

Schiavo had asked the court to refrain from ordering Lucero to jail until Sunday, so he could take care of business and family matters.

Woolpert, however, ordered Lucero to jail immediately.

In addition to the jail time, Lucero was ordered to serve three years probation, and his driver’s license was suspended until further notice from a judge. He was ordered not to possess alcohol or attend any business that primarily sells alcohol, and Woolpert recommended he attend Alcoholics Anonymous.

Now that this case has been disposed, the state bar will review the circumstances involving the felony conviction before determining what, if any, sanctions are warranted.

After the hearing, Rutherford slowly ambled out of the courthouse with the aide of a cane and a leg brace.

“I thought it was quite appropriate,” Rutherford said of the sentence.

His girlfriend, Cathy Sechrest, of Atascadero said she was worried Lucero’s popularity would influence the sentence.

“I feel sorry for him,” she said. “I feel sorry for his family. But it didn’t need to happen.”

She has been helping Rutherford — who still has two surgeries planned — with his injuries. In addition to the physical pain he’s suffered, she said, he has been depressed.

“He keeps reliving it in his mind,” she said.

The pending civil suit seeks compensation for injuries, emotional distress, medical expenses and lost wages suffered by Rutherford, a contractor.

McKiernan said he also is exploring whether to pursue action against the establishment that served the attorneys the alcohol.