Jury: Stuart Elder guilty on all charges for hitting and killing two women in Pebble Beach

Late Friday afternoon, a jury convicted 32-year-old Pacific Grove resident Stuart Elder on two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated; one count each for the death of Sharon Daly and Linda Larone.

Elder was also convicted of a special enhancement causing great bodily injury to a third person, Selvia Gattas, his passenger at the time of the accident.

The jury also found the defendant guilty of DUI causing injury and driving with a Blood Alcohol Level of .08 or higher causing injury with the special enhancements of great bodily injury to the three victims.

The jury reached its verdict after a two-week trial. Elder was taken into custody immediately following the verdict.

Prosecutors said that Elder spent the afternoon of April 7, 2013 drinking wine at Spanish Bay Inn in Pebble Beach. They say at 7:30 p.m. he got into his Cadillac Escalade with his girlfriend and headed towards his then home in Pebble Beach.

They argued that while driving on Sloat Road, a 25 mile an hour residential area, Elder reached speeds of 80 miles an hour; as he approached Bird Rock Road he rounded a curve and traveling three times the speed limit, crossed into Sharon Daly’s lane colliding into her Ford Freestyle killing her and her passenger, Linda Larone.

His passenger, Selvia Gattas, was also seriously injured in the crash.

The CHP-Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team was able to reconstruct the collision with data retrieved from the Electronic Data Recording Device “black box” from the Escalade.

That evidence showed that Elder was traveling 77-80 miles an hour just seconds before the collision.

Investigators say the defendant hit his brakes a half second before colliding with Ms. Daly and Ms. Larone, which meant that he was going 70.9 miles an hour at the moment of impact.

In addition, officers say Elder was driving with a blood alcohol level of .17, over double the legal limit.

Sentencing will be on April 1st at 8:45 in Department 3.

District Attorney Flippo said “This was a horrific case with tragic consequences. We appreciate the jury’s diligence in accepting the overwhelming evidence that was introduced during trial which proved the guilt of this defendant who is responsible for taking the lives of Ms. Daly and Ms. Larone.”

The District Attorney’s Office specialized DUI Vertical Prosecution Unit helped work on this case.