Las Vegas man, guilty of killing girl in drunken driving crash, faces new DUI charges
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: Sep. 24, 2012 | 3:11 p.m.
Less than a year after a drunken driver killed a 12-year-old trick-or-treater, he was behind bars again on DUI charges after hitting a parked car.
Las Vegas police arrested Justin Caramanica, 42, Saturday evening after the crash near his Summerlin home, less than half a mile from where he hit Faith Love as she roamed the neighborhood for candy last Halloween.
He pleaded guilty in July in the fatal crash and was free on bail while awaiting his sentencing in November.
"He shouldn't have been out in the first place. We're just thankful he didn't kill or injure somebody else," said an incensed Sandy Heverly, executive director of Stop DUI.
In the latest arrest, police found Caramanica behind the wheel after a caller reported the accident about 5:45 p.m. on the 2100 block of Silvered Bark Drive, near Town Center Drive and Sahara Avenue, officer Laura Meltzer said.
He had hit a parked car and was trying to drive away when police showed up, she said.
Caramanica, who was wearing his court-ordered alcohol-monitoring bracelet, was arrested and booked at the Clark County jail on charges including driving under the influence and driving on a revoked license.
Caramanica is set to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court this morning on those charges.
He also faces a Thursday hearing in the fatal DUI case where prosecutors will ask to revoke his bail.
He had been free since April, when District Judge Elissa Cadish took him off house arrest and ordered him not to drive, according to court records.
His freedom continued after he pleaded guilty in July to DUI causing death, a felony that carries up to 20 years in prison.
Faith was trick-or-treating Oct. 31 in the residential neighborhood near Sandstone Bluffs Drive and Wesley Lake Place when she was killed.
Las Vegas police arrested Caramanica after he performed "unsatisfactorily" on several field sobriety tests, including failing to walk a straight line, according to the report.
Police noted Caramanica had slurred speech, glassy eyes, dilated pupils and was taking prescription drugs, the report said.
Breath tests taken nearly three hours after the crash showed Caramanica with blood-alcohol readings of 0.068 and 0.067, according to the report.
The legal limit for driving is 0.08 percent.
Heverly had been following the case closely and helping Faith's mother through the process.
She and others from her group will continue to appear in court to make sure a "menace" like Caramanica isn't allowed to hurt an innocent person again, Heverly said.
"The only place he needs to go now is prison, and we'll have one less drunk driver to worry about," she said.
Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281. Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.
