TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The holidays will mean extra restrictions on the man charged in the hit and run deaths of three U of A students.
Louis John Artal is free on a quarter million dollar cash bond while his case moves through the courts.
He is facing second degree murder charges in the deaths of Sophia Troetel, Josiah Santos, and Katya Castillo-Mendoza.
Court documents say police concluded Artal had been drinking the night of the collision and say he admitted drinking before the wreck.
Like most people on bond, Artal is prohibited from drinking alcohol.
Check-ins that include screening for drugs and alcohol are standard when a defendant is out on bond but in a hearing Friday Superior Court Judge Danielle Constant noted the holiday period and ordered Artal to submit to extra check-ins. .
Artal and his attorney nodded as the Judge said, “I’m going to add a condition, sir, that for the next three weeks, which is a holiday period, you will be checking in with pre-trial services no less than twice a week.”
Artal is due in court again February 20th. That’s for a pre-trial hearing.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
