Raymond Morua pleaded not guilty Friday morning to second degree murder, DUI vehicular manslaughter, and hit-and-run charges and will appear back in court April 15 for another procedural hearing.
According to defense attorney Darryl Genis, however, both he and prosecutors are close to striking a plea deal because Morua “wants to take responsibility” for fatally hitting 27-year-old pedestrian Mallory Dies on December 6 then fleeing the scene.
Genis told Judge Thomas Adams that Morua doesn’t want to “renege” on his promise to accept responsibility, but that additional details of the plea deal need to be finalized before the two sides can agree on it.