Santa Cruz suspect fatal hit-and-run pleads not guilty

UPDATE 2/9/15: Santa Cruz County Superior Court said suspect Luke Logan pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run charges against him Monday.

Logan’s public defender requested a reduction in his bail, which a judge denied. His bail still sits at $100,000.

With no prior convictions or arrests, Logan’s defense felt he deserved a break. She also stated Logan was working as a maintenance worker at San Lorenzo Valley high and junior high schools and felt he did the right thing by turning himself in.

Logan will be back in court in April for a preliminary examination.

PREVIOUS STORY: Santa Cruz police said that the suspect accused of hitting and killing a man on his bike on Soquel Avenue in December has turned himself in to officers.

Investigators say 41-year-old Luke Logan surrendered to police officers on Thursday morning at about 10:45am.

Police say they found the truck with the front end damage at Logan’s home in Live Oak, after Logan surrendered to police.

The truck is in fact a white Ford F-150 extended cab model. Police had originally collected parts from the truck at the crime scene and determined it could either be a Toyota Tacoma or Ford.

According to witnesses 63-year-old Jose Adan Lainez was was on his way to work when he was hit from behind while riding his bike eastbound on Soquel Avenue near Hagemann Avenue in Santa Cruz at about 6:40 a.m. the day after Christmas.

Logan was booked in the Santa Cruz County Jail on vehicular manslaughter and felony hit and run charges.