SAN FRANCISCO — An appeals court has denied a South San Francisco man’s attempts to overturn his double-murder conviction from a wrong-way crash.
Michael Verette, 34, is at North Kern State Prison facing 45 years to life in prison for the deaths of married couple Tyra Ann Chappell, 52, of American Canyon, and Frederic Chappell, 76, of Vallejo.
The defense declined to challenge the appeal late last year, and the case was returned to Superior Court, records show.
Both victims were in a 2000 Toyota pickup truck heading east on Interstate 80 when a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer going west on the Appian Way exit slammed into them, according to the California Highway Patrol. According to authorities, Verette was headed eastbound on I-80 when he sped past a California Highway Patrol car, then reversed his course and got back on I-80 going west, exiting at Appian Way. He allegedly told a passenger he wasn’t going back to jail.
The charging records said Verette racked up 11 prior convictions for driving with a suspended or revoked license, all in 2013 and 2014. He had three prior convictions involving attempting to drive away from police, two of which involved driving the wrong way down a road, prosecutors said.
At the time of Verette’s sentencing, his attorney said the prosecution had “overcharged” Verette. The appellate decision rejects his arguments that jurors should have been instructed on involuntary manslaughter offenses.
Deputy district attorney Derek Butts, who prosecuted the case, said it “certainly met the criteria for second-degree murder,” despite the defense’s argument at trial that the incident was an “accident.”
“The jury of 12 unanimously agreed and now three appellate court justices have affirmed the convictions,” Butts said. “In Contra Costa County, highly dangerous driving, such as fleeing police, may subject the offender to murder prosecution if death occurs as a result of that driving.”
Verette will be eligible for parole in 2049, records show.