Former Vandenberg AFB airman faces new charges in deadly crash
UPDATE: May 5, 2019:
A Lompoc Superior judge ruled Friday that former Vandenberg AFB airman Shaquille Ahmed Lindsey will stand trial for charges relating to an August 28, 2016 deadly crash.
Original:
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney announced new criminal charges against former Vandenberg Air Force Base airman Shaquille Ahmed Lindsey relating to an August 28, 2016, deadly crash.
The 25-year-old Georgia man is accused of killing Lompoc residents Ruben and Bertha Betancourt while driving intoxicated. The fatal crash happened on a stretch of Santa Lucia Canyon Road in Santa Barbara County near the base.
On Friday, Aug. 31, 2018, Lindsey was charged with two felony counts alleging gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and one felony count of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs causing injury to Juan Betancourt. In addition, special allegations of causing great bodily injury are alleged as to each count, according to the DA’s Office.
District Attorney Joyce Dudley recently appointed two Assistant United States Attorneys, Joanna Curtis and Julian Andre, as Special Deputy District Attorneys to continue handling this matter as a state court prosecution. This is the first time that federal prosecutors have been authorized to serve in the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office.
Lindsey is scheduled to be arraigned on September 18, 2018, in the Lompoc Superior Court. Read the full complaint here.
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A former United States airman based out of Vandenberg Air Force Base is facing criminal charges involving a deadly crash that occurred in August 2016 near the base.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Shaquille Lindsey, 23, of Covington Georgia, was named in a three-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury.
On August 28, 2016, Lindsey allegedly drove his car into oncoming traffic while going more than 15 miles over the posted speed limit on Santa Lucia Canyon Road. His car crashed head-on with the victim’s car killing the driver and his wife and injuring the couple’s adult son.
The indictment charges Lindsey with two counts of involuntary manslaughter alleging he was driving under the combined influence of both alcohol and marijuana, and while using his cell phone. A third count alleges Lindsey was driving under the influence and causing bodily injury.
If convicted, Lindsey faces a maximum sentence of 18 years in federal prison. He’s expected to make his first court appearance in Georgia U.S. District Court in July 2017.
Read the full indictment here.
