Driver in Temecula Crash to Be Tried as an Adult : Justice: Teen-ager faces six counts of murder in the tragedy that intensified criticism of Border Patrol.

A 17-year-old driver who led U.S. Border Patrol agents on a chase through Temecula on June 2 that ended in six deaths was “criminally sophisticated” and should be tried as an adult rather than a juvenile, a Riverside Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday.

The teen-ager, Jesus Sandoval Macias, will be arraigned in Three Lakes Municipal Court in Perris on Friday on six counts of murder and for driving without a license.

Macias, an undocumented immigrant with no known permanent residence, continues to be held in lieu of $500,000 bail in Riverside Juvenile Hall. If convicted of all the charges, he faces a maximum of six consecutive 15-years-to-life prison terms. If tried as a juvenile, the most he would have faced was commitment to the California Youth Authority until he turned 25.

Macias was driving a Chevrolet Suburban utility truck that was initially spotted by U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service agents near the Mexican border at San Diego. It was later pursued by Border Patrol agents, who suspected it was being used to smuggle illegal aliens north on Interstate 15 into Riverside County.

The chase spilled onto the streets of Temecula and ended in front of Temecula Valley High School just as the school day was starting.

The Suburban ran a red light and sheared in half a sedan driven by a local banker who was taking his son and a friend of the son to school--killing all three--before overturning and skidding along the sidewalk, killing a brother and sister walking to school.

One of the 12 people inside the truck died later of his injuries, and Macias himself had to be extricated from behind the steering wheel by paramedics.

Riverside County Deputy Dist. Atty. Craig Datig asked Superior Court Judge Robert McIntyre on Wednesday to try Macias as an adult because of the gravity of the crime and because of Macias’ role in the smuggling operation.

“He’s criminally sophisticated. He’s a coyote ,” Datig said. “He was engaged in the smuggling of undocumented aliens into the United States of America. It’s a federal felony, and anytime you get someone engaged in conspiracy to violate federal law, you can say that’s an individual who is criminally sophisticated. He was not fit for juvenile proceedings.”

State law gives judges the discretion to hold 16- and 17-year-olds as adults for trial.

This is a case, Datig said, where Macias “is not fit for the treatment provided by the Juvenile Court system. In the juvenile system, the goal is rehabilitation. In the adult system, the goal is punishment.”

Macias’ attorney, Martin Swanson of the Riverside County public defender’s office, argued that Macias should be tried as a juvenile because of his age and lack of any criminal record, at least in the United States. He argued unsuccessfully that Macias showed no criminal sophistication. The judge disagreed, citing evidence that suggests Macias was “an active participant in a smuggling operation.”

Prosecutors will formally file murder charges against Macias on Friday, Datig said. The teen-ager will face murder charges, rather than vehicular manslaughter charges, because “it’s murder when a person commits a series of acts which are so highly dangerous that there is a high probability of death resulting to other people,” Datig said.

The question of whether Macias was the driver was not an issue in Wednesday’s proceedings, Datig said, and the Mexican Consulate’s office confirmed his age at 17.

Another passenger in the vehicle, Eddie Rodriguez, an undocumented immigrant living in San Ysidro, pleaded guilty July 28 to immigrant smuggling charges and faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Wednesday.

The crash sparked an angry reaction from Temecula residents over Border Patrol chases in their suburban community. In the wake of the tragedy, the agency announced new high-speed pursuit policies, which, among other things, require greater control by supervisors and increased cooperation with other law enforcement agencies.