Murder Charge Filed Against Temecula Drunk Driver

UPDATE: Joseph Triplett III pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and DUI gross vehicular manslaughter. He is next due in court Sept. 6 for a felony settlement hearing. He remains in custody with bail set at $1 million.

ORIGINAL POST: Murder and gross vehicular manslaughter charges have been filed against a 29-year-old Temecula man who allegedly killed a motorist while driving drunk.

The charges against Joseph Triplett III – who has a prior DUI conviction -- were filed Aug. 2 and stem from the crash that occurred earlier this summer.

According to court documentation, Triplett’s blood alcohol content was .35 percent when in the early morning hours of June 24 he sped through a red light on Rancho California Road at Moraga Road in a 1996 Ford Mustang and broadsided a 2001 Subaru Impreza driven by 27-year-old Jason Duane Hart of Temecula. Triplett and Hart were the only people involved in the two-car smash up.

Hart’s crash injuries proved fatal. He was transported to Inland Valley Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival, according to the court documentation.

At the crash scene, a Cal Fire paramedic alerted law enforcement that Triplett’s breath smelled of alcohol, the court documentation shows. Triplett was transported to Inland Valley Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, and during his hospital stay a deputy questioned him about the crash. The suspect said he had no recollection of what had happened, and the deputy ordered a blood sample taken, according to court documentation.

When the lab results were returned, they allegedly showed Triplett’s blood alcohol content was well over the legal limit.

In addition to driving while intoxicated, the court documents allege Triplett was driving 18 miles over the speed limit when he plowed into the Impreza piloted by Hart.

According to a June 30 obituary in the Oregonian, Hart was born in Portland and “attended the University of Oregon, Oregon State University and graduated Valedictorian from the prestigious Professional Golf Career College in Temecula California in 2008.”

The obituary stated Hart “married his soul-mate, Heather Baldwin Hart, whom he loved passionately.”

The couple moved to Temecula and Hart accepted the position of operations manager at Cross Creek Golf Club, the obituary read.

In the Aug. 2 complaint filed against Triplett, records show he was convicted in a separate case on Feb. 17, 2009 of driving under the influence.

Triplett is scheduled in court today for his arraignment on the latest charges against him.