Defendant Seeks to Withdraw Guilty Plea in Silver Strand Drunk Driving Death

This story was written by Jennifer Vigil.

Just before his 70th wedding anniversary, Stevens B. Friedman died near his Coronado home at the hands of a drunk driver.

The driver, Melanie R. Flores, appeared in a South Bay courtroom Tuesday as she faced a life sentence in prison for causing Friedman's 2010 death and life-threatening injuries to his son. 

She opted, however, to ask to withdraw her guilty plea to second-degree murder charges, and Judge Francis Devaney granted her a hearing on the request, despite the protestations of Friedman's family and deputy district attorney Cally Bright.

Joann Friedman Lang, the dead man's daughter, said her mother, now 99, needs the closure Flores' sentencing would bring. 

Lang appeared in court with her brother Gary, one of the other crash victims, Coronado police Sgt. David Craig and an escort from Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.

Lang expressed frustration with the defendant, who entered her plea in March, as did the prosecutor, the judge and even defense attorney Ashby Sorensen, who asked to be removed from Flores' case.

Bright told the court that Flores' maneuver was the sign of “a calculated system of manipulative behavior.” Devaney, who apologized to the family for having to consider the defendant's request, allowed that it “may be a delay tactic.”

Flores, in brief remarks, denied the accusation, and referred to court-ordered speech therapy to which she believed she was entitled. The judge silenced her and asked that those arguments be left to her attorney. 

“I have never tried to stop anything,” Flores said.

The hearing on her request to withdraw her guilty plea is set for June 28. 

Friedman lived at the Coronado Shores condominium complex for decades his daughter said, and enjoyed spending time at the community senior center, where he liked to take on his peers playing bridge.

“He loved his friends at the senior center,” Lang said. “He loved them so much.”

He and his son Gary were driving on Silver Strand Boulevard on April 21, 2010 when they encountered Flores. The woman, police said, hit two vehicles, killing Friedman, and leaving two others injured. Gary Friedman, Craig said, is still recovering because of the severity of his injuries.

Flores, who had three DUI priors, registered a blood alcohol level of .32 after the crash, four times the legal limit. She has remained in jail since her arrest two months later.