Man Accused of Killing Deputy During DUI Hit And Run Posts Bail
Kevin Hogrefe didn’t answer the door to his Camarillo apartment after posting a $500,000.00 bond to get out of jail.
One neighbor said it irritated her that the 25-year-old man suspected of killing a veteran deputy with his car is free until his next court date in mid-January.
Another neighbor was not surprised by rolling papers left on the porch he shares with roommates. The neighbor said she smells pot often.
The apartment is less than two-and-half miles from the Clubhouse Sports Bar and Grill where customers saw Hogrefe drinking and playing pool Monday night. Clubhouse owner Doug Brown said Hogrefe was not a regular customer and that receipts show he closed out a small credit card beer tab around midnight. He said he gave investigators the bar’s surveillance video that shows he didn’t stay until one a.m.
Deputy Eugene Kostiuchenko was stuck and killed after an unrelated traffic stop along Daily Drive near the 101 on-ramp 1:15 a.m. Tuesday.
Some people think he may have had more to drink at another location before the fatal crash.
Officers said they arrested Hogrefe after he crashed on the Las Posas off-ramp.
In a jailhouse interview with the Ventura County Star Hogrefe said the night was a blur and that he wished he could turn back the clock. Although he plead not guilty to all charges after the interview he didn’t deny his involvement and said he wanted a second chance.
Camarillo resident Robert Dangcil said it sounds like he already had a second chance and that he should have had a breathalizer in his car, noting that prosecutors said Hogrefe had a prior DUI arrest near Las Vegas, NV.
Camarillo police contracts with the Sheriff’s department. Today officers drove to LAX to give the deputy’s parents a police escort. They flew in from the Ukraine to attend their son’s memorial service at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village on Tuesday.
Kostiuchenko is also survived by a wife, who works for the FBI and two stepsons.
A memorial fund has been set up at the Ventura County Credit Union.
