CA - Sergio Campusano + Minor Victims, 3 killed after ding-dong-ditch prank 19 January 2020

[Roadette]

Corona, CA - Anurag Chandra allegedly caused a deadly crash after intentionally running into a car with 6 teens who played a ding dong ditch prank as a birthday joke. 3 teens died in the accident. Apparently the teens meant to target a house of someone they knew and ended up getting this guy on the other end of the door on accident. After deliberately ramming the teens' car into a tree multiple times during the hit and run, a witness followed him to his home where he was later arrested by police.

Suspect has pending spousal and child abuse charges filed on 12/31/19. Per publicly available court filings, it appears bail was ordered for that case, however, none was paid and an arrest warrant had not been issued.

18-Year-Old Survives After He and Car Full of Friends Allegedly Rammed Off Road
'It's The Worst Nightmare': Community In Shock After 3 Teens Killed, 3 Injured In Crash Near Corona
3 boys killed in Temescal Valley crash honored at prayer service; driver accused of intentionally hitting their car – Press Enterprise
Suspect in Temescal Valley deadly car-ramming crash faces spouse abuse, child injury charges – Press Enterprise
https://nypost.com/2020/01/21/california-driver-intentionally-rammed-car-killing-3-teens-cops/

It appears a case number has now been assigned to his inmate booking, however, that case number has not updated on the Riverside Court website as of the time of this post: Inmate Information System

 

[Roadette]

3 young lives lost way too soon.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Uggh....my son, grown now, used to pull this prank with his buddies in high school (I found out after the fact). I personally don’t care for the prank but it’s not something I would ever imagine him getting murdered over FGS. Dang, society really needs to take a chill pill. This guy ran into these kids’ in their car and killed three of them! Come on! Just because some kids rang his doorbell and then ran off, he murdered them! SMH

 

[SugarQueen]

Oh FGS!! They were teens being annoying, playing a prank.
They didn’t deserve to be hunted down let alone killed. SMDH.
That grown male has some serious anger issues! Let’s hope he’s locked up for a long, long time.

 

[Roadette]

Any more info on the "Apparently the teens meant to target a house of someone they knew and ended up getting this guy on the other end of the door on accident."? I tried to read all the links and didn't see that addressed anywhere.

It’s buried among other quotes from Mrs. Ruiz, you can find it referenced in a couple of articles. This one doesn’t spend much time on it but I did want to include a MSM source so it doesn’t get snipped as hearsay: Loved Ones ID 3 Teens Killed After Man Allegedly Intentionally Rammed Their Car in Temescal Valley

Re: your other question: other juveniles would have no reason to be charged - ding dong ditch isn’t against the law out here. It appears there was one more kid than seatbelt in the car so you may have a seatbelt violation, however, that may be what saved their lives. It appears the 3 boys thrown from the car survived while the ones who were trapped did not.

 

[ontheclock]

Thank you for the link and clarification Roadette. Proving once again, no one should wear seatbelts. I'm still not clear on who's house they were going to, but whatev's. Ruiz's mom knows all. Sounds like it was a bit misunderstanding. "Yokley said officials have not determined a motive, only saying that there was "some sort of contact which led to this incident."
And then, Momma Ruiz says"the boys were together celebrating one of their birthdays and had played a prank in which they rang a doorbell and drove away at a home they believed was that of another teen. "But it turned out to be that angry man," Ruiz said.

<modsnip: not victim friendly>

 

[ontheclock]

When did the problem begin? At the castle?

 

[SugarQueen]

Saying it loud for newbies and the folks in the back....WE DON’T victim blame here. The teens are victims. Doesn’t appear they committed any crime.
Ding dong ditch, is a harmless prank! They were acting like teens!! Angry man needs to rot under the jail!

 

[wildblue]

Saying it loud for newbies and the folks in the back....WE DON’T victim blame here. The teens are victims. Doesn’t appear they committed any crime.
Ding dong ditch, is a harmless prank! They were acting like teens!! Angry man needs to rot under the jail!

First post, have been a long time reader, but learning the ropes of postings so patience please...Actually, in some jurisdictions one can be prosecuted for an act of Ding Dong Ditch for trespassing, harassment and disturbing the peace. It is usually not dealt with by authorities until it becomes a pattern. Angry man should have reported the kids to the police and left it to them to investigate and issue warnings. Pranks are often not actually harmless, e.g., a neighbor of ours had his house covered in toilet paper and was seriously injured from a fall while cleaning up the mess. What if an elderly woman, along at home, gets pranked in the middle of the night causing severe distress? Happened to my mom, kids tapping on her windows, and she was so scared she moved in with my family and eventually sold her house (situation that prompted my signing up to reply). Children should be taught not to do such things, especially in an era in which some people are quick to resort to violence. These kids did not deserve what happened to them but I hope that this situation will serve to teach others about the legalities and dangers of pulling such pranks.

 

[JudgeJoe]

Just learning about this case. Didn’t see any updates in SM, but looking forward to seeing AC behind bars asap.

I’m curious about the witness(es). It’s awesome that someone followed this vile man so LE could make a prompt arrest. But most would stop at the scene to try & aid the crash victims. Were there others already helping so they could chase the perp down?

Have mixed feelings about the pranking. I did some crap when I was young- mostly telephone prank nonsense. But that was before caller ID. I was stricter with my kids- not for moral reasons but for fear. It seems half the population is a hair trigger away from an insane response to the slightest thing. Flip off or honk at a driver who pulls out in front of you & you might be shot. Sorry to ramble but wow. It was a doorbell. No indication they trespassed or vandalized anything. Just pranked the angriest most vicious, vengeful, raging guy in town. Perp is 42, so hopefully consecutive sentences keep him locked up till death. He may get a sentence reduction since there were 6 in a 5-seat car. Jmo