Local News in Brief : Drunk Driver in Fatal Crash Gets Prison Term

A Reseda man was sentenced Monday to six years in prison for driving drunk and causing a crash that killed a 74-year-old Chatsworth man.

Superior Court Judge Kathryne Ann Stoltz sentenced Scott Frederick Cree, 23, for the Feb. 7, 1987, accident that killed Francis Petithomme.

Cree was driving about 60 m.p.h. on Tampa Avenue when he ran a red light at Plummer Street and slammed broadside into Petithomme’s car. Petithomme died the next day at Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

Cree originally was charged with second-degree murder, but Stoltz on June 28 dismissed the charge, saying there was insufficient evidence that Cree acted with the malice necessary to prove second-degree murder. Cree pleaded guilty that same day to one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while under the influence of alcohol.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to seek dismissal of two counts of driving under the influence.

Later Monday, in an unrelated case, Cree pleaded guilty to one count of purse snatching, stemming from a March 4 incident in which he stole a 67-year-old Encino woman’s purse. Stoltz sentenced Cree to an additional eight months in prison for the crime, which occurred while Cree was free on bail for the drunk-driving incident.