Man Pleads No Contest in Pedestrian’s Death in Pasadena

A Baldwin Park man is facing 15 years in state prison after pleading no contest Thursday to charges stemming from a DUI crash that killed a pedestrian from Minnesota.

Higinio Arceo, 41, pleaded no contest to one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and admitted an allegation that he fled from the scene of the crash last Oct. 6 that killed Anthony Miller, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Miller, 31, was visiting from Shoreline, Minnesota, according to family members.

Police said a gray pickup truck was westbound on Colorado Boulevard, between Madison and El Molino avenues, when it struck the pedestrian as he was crossing the street at 3:15 a.m. The vehicle then continued westbound on Colorado Boulevard.

Officers canvassed the immediate area and spotted a gray/silver Chevrolet Silverado, with front-end damage “consistent with the crash,” in an underground parking structure about four blocks away, according to Pasadena police Lt. Pete Hettema.

When Arceo, who was working at a nearby construction site, returned to the pickup truck, he was interviewed by police and ultimately arrested, the police lieutenant said.

Arceo — who is due back in a Pasadena courtroom Aug. 17 — is expected to be sentenced to a 15-year prison term, according to Santiago.