RCNS EXCLUSIVE: Grieving family calls for justice after felon’s second fatal DUI crash kills Nuevo woman, 65
Family and friends of a 65-year-old Nuevo woman who was killed in an early morning head-on collision in Mead Valley late last month are calling for accountability and justice after learning this week that the felon and alleged drunk driver now charged in her death has a lengthy criminal history, including a prior DUI/manslaughter conviction that he served prison time for.
In addition to his 2006 DUI/manslaughter conviction, Riverside County Superior Court records indicate the alleged suspect, 38-year-old Lawrence Martin Dileva, has arrests and/or convictions for rape/unlawful sexual intercourse with an intoxicated minor more than three years younger than him, providing alcohol to a minor, possession of methamphetamine, possession of controlled substances, being under the influence of narcotics, burglary, forgery, possession of stolen property, driving on a suspended license, and multiple prior state prison and felony strike enhancements.
Dileva remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bail or bond and now faces charges of second-degree murder, DUI/gross vehicular manslaughter, DUI resulting in great bodily injuries, DUI repeat offender, and multiple prior felony strikes as well as prior state prison enhancements.
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The victim of the Friday morning, Jan. 28th collision has since been identified by family members and the Coroner’s Office as Demiris Laurel Reid.
In the wake of her untimely passing, and as her daughter, Rachel Crouch, began to learn more about the man now accused in her mother’s “tragic and preventable” death, the grieving woman reached out to RCNS to share her growing anger and frustration.
Anger and frustration she feels not just toward the alleged drunk driver she says murdered her mother, but also toward the judicial system she says allowed a felon with a lengthy criminal history to enjoy the freedom to continue drinking and driving.
“A selfish and uncaring act” that Rachel says once again ended in a drunken collision with fatal consequences, “and another family torn apart with grief left asking one simple question. Why?”
A felon with a lengthy criminal history has been charged with first-degree murder after his second fatal DUI collision that killed 65-year-old, Demiris Laurel Reid, of Nuevo, late last month. Lone Wolf News/OnScene TV photos
“I loved my mom with all my heart and soul. All the way to the moon and back,” Rachel told RCNS after learning the circumstances behind her mother’s death and the alleged suspect’s prior DUI/manslaughter conviction and lengthy criminal history.
“Her smile was as a sunflower, bright and beautiful. Her hugs were as a warm blanket on a cold morning. She loved without boundaries and gave service to her community and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints without expectation of return,” she continued, adding, “She has left an ever-lasting impression on all she came across.”
“Even though there is nothing I can say that could ever fully explain who my mother was and how much she meant to our whole family, the only thing I ask for from our judicial system now is that they make this right,” Rachel went on to explain, saying that in addition to her other family members, her mother left behind twelve grandchildren and seven – but soon to be eight – great-grandchildren.
“After his first fatal DUI and manslaughter conviction, he should have never had the chance to take another person’s life. One is too many and two is definitely not acceptable,” she explained. “Considering everything this man has been convicted of, he should have been behind bars. Now, he needs to stay behind bars.”
“I just want this man to never be able to leave prison or to hurt another family again,” she added.
“But knowing all the felonies he has been accused and convicted of and the fact that he was walking freely just shows me how broken our judicial system truly is,” she went on to say.
“Our system chose over and over again to let this man to go free, and to do as he wanted with no real consequences. So, who is paying the price and who is really reaping the rewards of our states soft-on-crime judicial system?” she asked. “The law-abiding citizens or the criminals who terrorize them daily?”
“You took my sunshine away. You ripped out a huge part of my heart, and I want you to see my mom’s face as I do when I close my eyes. I want you to hear her beautiful voice in the silence of your jail cell. I want your heart to break, just as you have broken mine and many others,” Rachel Crouch told RCNS after her mother’s DUI-related death.
Turning her attention to Dileva, Rachel posed the question, “What was so important to you that you would risk drinking and driving at five in the morning, right when people are trying to get to work? Considering that you already killed another person while drunk driving, how could you have allowed this to happen again?
“Your wrap-sheet tells me you should have gotten help a long time ago. But did you? Did you learn nothing from your previous conviction for doing the same thing?” she asked, knowing her question would go unanswered.
“My mom was just on her way to work. She loved working and staying busy and living her life. The life YOU stole from her,” she went on to say. “She was my life. And you took that life away from her and stole her away from so many who loved her.”
“Her two-year-old great-granddaughter asks for her every day. She doesn’t understand where her ‘Manga’ is, and she waits for her. She knocks on her door, and she cries for her. You did that!” she continued with equal amounts of anger and sadness.
“With no help from our so-called ‘justice system’, you have been able to continue to live your life the way you want and without any real consequences,” she went on to say, adding, “I don’t hate you; I pity you.”
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As for what she referred to as a broken judicial system, Rachel went on to say, “As we are seeing throughout our state and nation, when you don’t deal with crimes like this right away, and with the right type of punishment for these criminals, these problems don’t just go away. They just become much bigger problems, which is exactly what we have now.”
“Our judicial system can’t continue to sweep these problems under the rug,” she went on to say. “We need harsher penalties for criminals, and we need our local and state leaders to hear our voices. My mom deserves to have a voice. The victims of these and other crimes, as well as their families, deserve to have a voice.”
“We need to be, and deserve to be heard,” she added, concluding, “This is so wrong and has to stop.”
Anyone with further information regarding this investigation, or who may have witnessed the deadly collision and has not yet provided a statement is encouraged to contact CHP’s Accident Investigation Unit at (951) 637-8000. Callers can refer to incident file number F05184022 and can remain anonymous.
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Lone Wolf News/OnScene TV photos above, video below.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.
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Her words brought tears to my eyes. Very well said, every word, I felt her anguish with every word and like her, as well as feeling heartbroken for her family, I’m also feeling livid because this is NOT the first story I’ve read like this and won’t be the last. The judges releasing these killers & pedo’s WAY too early need to start facing consequences and accountability when they reoffend. Her mom’s life, like SO many others, were PREVENTABLE!!!!!!
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