Santa Barbara County District Attorney John T. Savrnoch announced today that, on April 14, 2026, over the objection of the District Attorney’s Office, Katelyn Fultz, a 29-year-old resident of Santa Barbara, was sentenced by the Court to five years of probation, with six years of state prison suspended. She had previously pleaded no contest to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in violation of Penal Code section 191.5(a).
On May 1, 2025, Fultz was driving on Highway 154 when she crossed over double yellow lines, causing a catastrophic collision. The crash left 24-year-old Carly Howard in a coma, ultimately resulting in her death. Fultz’s passenger, Albert Ineira, sustained injuries including a laceration requiring stitches and a fractured foot.
Toxicology results showed Fultz had a blood alcohol content of 0.167% and the presence of cocaethylene, a compound formed when cocaine and alcohol are used together, at the time of the crash. Fultz was also driving without a valid driver’s license.
On March 17, 2026, Fultz entered an open plea before visiting Judge Brian Aronson. Fultz pled no contest to all charges and enhancements without any agreement with the District Attorney’s Office. The charges included gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, two counts of DUI causing injury, and multiple great bodily injury enhancements.
At the April 14, 2026 sentencing hearing, the Court heard powerful victim impact statements from Ms. Howard’s family and loved ones. The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office argued for a state prison sentence of 10 years, 8 months to reflect the devastating loss of life and the egregious nature of the defendant’s conduct. The Probation Department recommended 7 years, 8 months in state prison. Despite those recommendations, the Court imposed probation with a suspended prison term and, over the objection of the District Attorney’s Office, reduced the DUI causing great bodily injury charge involving Mr. Ineira to a misdemeanor.
Despite those recommendations, the Court imposed a sentence of probation with a suspended prison term and ordered Fultz to serve 270 days in county jail.
District Attorney John T. Savrnoch expressed deep disappointment with the judge’s sentencing choice: “This sentence is profoundly shocking and does not come close to reflecting the magnitude of the loss suffered by Carly Howard’s family. A young woman lost her life because of a series of reckless, illegal, and dangerous decisions by the defendant—driving under the influence of both alcohol and cocaine, at nearly twice the legal limit, without a valid license.”
“Our office sought a significant state prison sentence because that is what justice and public safety demand in a case like this. When someone chooses to drive in that condition and takes a life, there must be real consequences.”
“While nothing can undo the harm caused, this appallingly lenient sentence sends the wrong message about the seriousness of impaired driving. We at the District Attorney’s Office remain committed to aggressively prosecuting DUI cases and standing with victims and their families in the pursuit of accountability.”
Fultz was remanded into custody to serve her jail sentence and will return to Department 11 on April 28, 2026, to formalize the terms of her probation.
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W.O.K.E. State – Absolutely Ridiculous. Sentence.
Yes, you are absolutely ridiculous.
And no, not a sentence.
The DA, who represents the state, argued for a stiff sentence, so why do you say that?
(Obvious answer: rank stupidity and dishonesty typical of the right wing.)
What does “W.O.K.E.” stand for?
More importantly, why do you hate so intensely equality, compassion, education, and history?
Wanking Old Kooks Everywhere
*Visiting* Judge Aronson, who won a couple of episodes of Jeopardy! in 1978, retired from the Sutter County Superior Court in 2018. Maybe it’s time for him to retire altogether.
Wow, this is an atrocious sentence. She should be behind bars for years. She killed a person. CA liberal judges are cool with manslaughter apparently. So sad.
Yeah, BASIC, like conservative judges are cool with child ra***ts, domestic terrorists and any white r****ts.
Basic bringing the toxicity. Don’t sleep in the honey hut kid.
Dishonest trolls are cool with baseless generalizations.
While Judge Aronson’s sentence handed down here is indeed atrocious, it doesn’t begin to compare to the man who is singlehandedly responsible for letting more guilty people go free than every judge in the U.S. combined, the dishonorable corrupt grifting conman and mobster Donald John Trump:
https://www.cato.org/blog/embarrassment-riches
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/03/05/trumpcriminals3/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency
And anyone supports or defends this filth, this pox on humanity, is no better, so best if you don’t go there–you will not be treated kindly.
* Driving without a license.
* Driving with double the B.A.C..
* Driving and doing cocaine.
* Crossing the double yellow.
* Causing a “catastrophic” accident.
* Killing a young woman.
* Injuring her passenger.
Santa Barbara court system, in their finite wisdom, decides a slap on the wrist is appropriate punishment, so she’ll be back on the road in a few months. Condolences and sympathies to the family of the deceased, and also to her next victim(s).
> Santa Barbara court system
Why do you d__b af right wingers insist on lying? This is one visiting judge.
And this was all before 7 am on a Thursday morning! I wonder if she is related to the Fultz family that lives on the pass?
Sure would have liked to know the judge’s name.
Brian Aronson, visiting judge, it’s in the article. Retired from some other county, filling in here.
Does the judge smoke cigars? Maybe it’s time to investigate the background of this “visiting” judge before he destroys another case. An extremely lenient sentence like this doesn’t come from “out of the blue.”
Why are you putting things in quotation marks “for no reason?” It’s “really weird” for you to do that.
He does that because he has the education of a yam.
Alex & General – My quote you refer to is a manner of showing sarcasm (relative to the sentencing). Also, taken in context, if your intelligent enough to read through the phrase you might see it indicates there could be a reason (past history involving the judge) for such a lenient sentence. No offense taken. I’ll guess you boy’s just got up too early today.
Nah, what you did doesn’t communicate sarcasm; you just don’t know how to write or communicate effectively. Not even going to correct your atrocious punctuation and lack thereof.
How far did you get? Eleventh grade? Proud recipient of a G.E.D.?
“if your intelligent” and “boy’s”
Con mouthpieces never learned grammar, because the orange moron likes the uneducated.
Dollies reading your 3rd grade dotard ninny syncophant drivel is like chewing on a drill bit. The world has passed you by. Good luck.
The most offensive thing here is the DA going after a judge in this extra-judicial manner. Litigants should be professional and limit their complaints to what can be appropriately filed at trial or on appeal. This smacks of villagers carrying torches.
So, you are for the regulation of free speech . . .
Dumbest most dishonest comment here, even worse than the RWers.