Two men who had been involved in a fender-bender decided to drive recklessly when they sped down a busy street and crashed into a minivan, killing a 16-year-old high school baseball player and critically injuring his father in south Torrance nearly three years ago, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday, Jan. 15.

But defense attorneys for both Darryl Leander Hicks Jr., 31, of Los Angeles and Tung Ming, 24, of Rancho Palos Verdes said several complicating factors, and not mere recklessness, led the pair to speed down the hill from Rolling Hills Estates on March 7, 2017.

They said the prosecution overreached in charging the men with gross vehicular manslaughter in a three-vehicle crash that killed Jesse Esphorst Jr. and critically injured his father, also Jesse, during opening statements of an anticipated 10-day trial in Torrance Superior Court.

But prosecutor Ryan Gould told the jury that usually after a fender bender, both parties pull over, exchange information and move on.

“That is not what happened here,” he said. “Because of a series of choices both defendants made, they drove recklessly, carelessly and without regard for human life.”

Witnesses and police estimated the two vehicles to be traveling about 80 miles per hour when they collided in succession with the Esphorts’ minivan as it attempted to make a left turn on a green arrow from southbound Crenshaw Boulevard to eastbound Crest Road.

The minivan clipped Hicks’ vehicle as it sped by on a red light, but Ming’s SUV followed and hit the minivan head on, which was believed to be the fatal collision.

Witnesses who ran up to render aid found Jesse Esphorst Sr. slumped over his son in the passenger seat, with the younger Esphorst’s upper body partly hanging out the passenger window.

The son suffered a broken sternum, skull fractures and a neck dislocation, while the father suffered a broken right nasal bone, a three-centimeter cut on his scalp requiring 10 staples and brain hemorrhaging, Gould said.

Ming stayed at the scene following the collision while Hicks fled. His damaged car was found a quarter-mile away from the crash site and he was arrested days later.

Both men face counts of vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving on a highway causing injuries and death. Hicks also faces counts of hit-and-run driving resulting in death or serious injury to another person, hit-and-run driving resulting in injury to another person and misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run resulting in property damage and driving on a suspended license.

Hicks faces 12 years in prison if convicted as charged, while Ming faces nine years. Both men are free on bail.

The incident began when Hicks made an illegal U-turn to go southbound on Crenshaw Boulevard while Ming was making a legal left turn from Silver Spur Road. Their cars collided before Hicks fled and Ming pursued while calling 911, which led to the fatal crash, Gould said.

Richard Hutton, representing Ming, said the case was unique in the fact that the co-defendants had never met.

Hicks’ attorney Daniel Perlman told the jury his client was headed home with his girlfriend when he made the U-turn. After the collision, Ming’s SUV appeared to veer toward Hicks’ sedan and Hicks fled out of fear that Ming would retaliate, Perlman said.

Hutton told the jury that Ming was simply following the order of a sheriff’s department 911 operator, who asked him three times to try to get the license plate number of the vehicle that had hit him, only to request he stop chasing the vehicle almost simultaneously with the moment of impact, which was heard on the recording.

The defense attorneys were not disputing that the collisions occurred, or that there was tremendous loss as a result, but disagreed with the vehicular manslaughter charge and the contention that gross negligence was involved.

Perlman said Hicks’ girlfriend, seated in the passenger seat of his car, told him that she could no longer see Ming’s SUV in the rear view mirror and suggested he slow down in the seconds before the collision with the Esphorsts, adding Hicks was unaware Ming also hit the minivan.

“You will hear evidence and testimony that my client did not know the second collision occurred or how serious it was,” Perlman told the jury.

Hicks heard about the fatal collision on the news, Perlman said, adding Hicks called him and planned to turn himself in, but was called in to work first and arrested there by police.

Hutton followed and pointed out that Ming was the listed victim in one of the counts against Hicks. He argued that if Hicks was truly afraid, he should have called 911. He claimed Hicks may have fled because he had been drinking and was driving on a suspended license.

Ultimately, Ming didn’t display the mental state of someone with a disregard for human life, Hutton argued.

“It doesn’t make it right, but maybe there are other factors involved,” Hutton said. “In no way, shape or form do we blame the Esphorsts for any part of what happened. It’s a true tragedy and my client feels terrible about it.”

Jesse Esphorst Jr. was a talented shortstop for the South Torrance High baseball team and had just hit a home run to lead his team to victory hours prior to the crash.

More than 2,000 people, including hundreds who knew him through high school and Little League, attended his funeral.

Attorney Michael Scott sits next to his client, Lavell White, in a Lompoc courtroom on Tuesday. White and another former basketball player from Allan Hancock College are charged with the fatal shooting of Terence Richardson, 23, in December 2014 in Santa Maria. The trial is taking place in Lompoc due to a clogged court calendar. (Janene Scully / Noozhawk photo)

Jurors heard opening statements Tuesday in the Santa Barbara County Superior Court trial of two former Allan Hancock College basketball players charged with murder, robbery and burglary.

Ali Mohammed, 22, and Lavell White, 25 are accused in the fatal shooting of Terence Richardson, 23, of Santa Maria on Dec. 30, 2014, near the intersection of Bradley Road and Jones Street in Santa Maria. Mohammed is charged with wielding the gun.

The fatal shooting allegedly occurred during a drug deal gone wrong, as Richardson sat in the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by Ryan DiPalma, the trial’s first witness.

The pair are charged with murder, and also face special-circumstance allegations that the slaying occurred during the commission of a robbery, and several charges for robbery and residential burglaries.

In her opening statement, Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Savrnoch detailed a number of residential burglaries and robberies of other drug dealers that occurred before the fatal shooting. 

“In the days leading up the murder, Lavell White was trying to find another marijuana dealer they could rob,” Savrnoch said. “You will hear that Lavell White said he believed the dealers in Santa Maria were soft compared to the ones he knew in Gary, Indiana, meaning they were not armed and were easy prey.”

Referring to text messages, Savrnoch noted a conversation between White and a former baseball player seeking to “hit a stain,” a term for robbing a dealer of drugs and cash. The conversation also included a query about whether they could get some “bangers” — referring to guns. 

Law enforcement officers contend the 9-mm gun used in the shooting had been stolen during one of several burglaries at the Montiavo Apartments. 

“We are confident after you hear all of this evidence that you will agree we proved this case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Savrnoch said.

Attorney Michael Scott, who represents White, said the trial would include testimony from “a cast of characters,” many of whom lied to law enforcement officers during several interviews. 

Those involved include a number of athletes formerly with Hancock’s football, basketball and baseball programs, along with several drug dealers, Scott said.

“The prosecution will attempt to prove its case by calling to the stand a succession of young men of dubious character, questionable veracity and with ample motive to deflect attention away from themselves,” Scott said.

A key witness, Gentry Oden, gave varying stories to law enforcement about the burglaries and the homicide.

“The evidence will show that a majority of the prosecution’s civilian star witnesses were high on marijuana every day, and supplemented their income through criminal activity,” Scott said.

“The evidence will also show that the football players appeared to have circled the wagons to protect themselves by implicating the basketball players,” Scott added.

Attorney Lori Pedego, who represents Mohammed, also noted Oden’s multiple stories to law enforcement officers.

“The number of lies that Mr. Oden gave to police in the various reports is too long to list here,” Pedego said.

Oden’s password-protected phone reportedly was used to arrange the drug deal involved in the shooting, the defense attorneys said.

While Richardson reportedly was sitting in the front passenger seat when he was shot once in the abdomen, Pedego said, a security guard will testify Richardson was in the rear seat upon arriving at Marian Regional Medical Center.

“You may or may not hear any evidence about why or why not that occurred,” she said, adding the witness consistently told the same story.

“I ask you to pay attention to the witnesses that you’re going to hear from,” Pedego said. “Keep an open mind as to their motives and their credibility, and at the end of this trial you will know that the prosecution has not proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt, and you must return a verdict of not guilty.”

When he took the witness stand, DePalma, who became emotional during his testimony, recalled driving to the scene where the shooting took place to sell marijuana. His best friend, Richardson, sat in the front passenger seat.

Upon arrival near the intersection, DePalma said, a man got into the back seat while another stood outside the driver’s door demanding money and marijuana. DePalma sped away and a shot was fired from the rear seat.

“I thought it was a blank,” DePalma said, adding his friend claimed he had been shot and needed to go to the hospital.

But DePalma admitted he could not describe those two people involved in the attempted robbery and shooting, estimating they were 5 feet, 10 inches tall.

Scott, who said he is 5 foot-10, walked near his client, who is 6 feet, 6 inches tall, instructed White to stand, and asked DePalma, “He’s substantially taller is he not?” 

DePalma answered affirmatively. 

Testimony will resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday before Judge James Voysey in a Lompoc courtroom. The trial is being held Mondays through Thursdays in Lompoc to help ease the court system’s clogged calendar. 

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.