Judge orders Green to stand trial for manslaughter

By Neal Putnam

A Ramona man was ordered Jan. 8 to stand trial on a charge of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in 2011.

After hearing from California Highway Patrol officers, El Cajon Superior Court Judge Lantz Lewis held Harold Lee Green Jr., 50, to answer for the Nov. 12, 2011, death of his back seat passenger, Mark Andrew Jones, 52, of Ramona.

Green pleaded not guilty at the conclusion of his preliminary hearing, and Lewis set a trial date for March 4. Green remains free on his own recognizance on condition he abstains from alcohol and does not drive, according to court records.

Green also was ordered to stand trial for driving under the influence of alcohol and causing great bodily injury to another passenger, Michael McComack, 56. Green’s attorney is former District Attorney Paul Pfingst.

Deputy District Attorney Andrew Aguilar said Green’s blood/alcohol level after the crash was .24, which is three times the legal limit.

According to reports, Green was driving a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda southbound on Ashley Road from Telford Lane at a high rate of speed and he apparently tried to turn, causing the vehicle to hit a street sign and then a retaining wall. Jones was ejected from the vehicle as it rolled over.

Pfingst couldn’t be reached for comment.

Charges were not filed against Green until July 30, 2012. He was also injured in the crash.