Bryan Paul Charette, 35, if facing murder charges after he was the alleged cause of a drunk driving related accident on Highway 1 in Lompoc. Charette was previously convicted of driving under the influence. At the time of his conviction, he was required to sign a Watson Waiver. The Watson Waiver puts defendants on notice that if they are convicted of a second or subsequent drunk driving incident where they are determined to be the cause of a fatal accident, they can be charged with murder. AS a result, Charette will face a minimum of 15 years to life in prison according to the Lompoc Record. A judge ordered Charette to wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet as a condition of his release.
The Watson murder rule came into national headlights after a young Angels’ Baseball player was killed in a tragic drunk driving incident. According to reports, Andrew Thomas Gallo was driving under the influence when he struck another vehicle. The vehicle was being driven by Courtney Stewart. She had three passengers including the young up-and-coming Angels pitcher. Stewart, Adenhart and another passenger were killed as a result of the collision. Gallo had a previous conviction for driving under the influence and was driving on a suspended license. Gallo was tried and convicted of three counts of murder under the Watson murder rule. He was sentenced to 51 years to life in prison as a result of the incident. He received 15 years to life for each of the people killed in the crash and six years for additional counts of driving under the influence, hit-and-run and DUI causing great bodily injury.