Studio City Area Meeting Ends in Tragedy

A Los Angeles man kidnapped a girlfriend and led police on a high-speed chase that ended in a head-on collision that killed her, making him a murderer, a prosecutor told jurors Monday, but a defense attorney said the two were in a cocaine-fueled fight that ended in an accidental crash.

Jeffrey Minifie, 42, is charged with one count each of murder, kidnapping and evading an officer causing injury. The murder count includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during a kidnapping, but prosecutors have decided against seeking the death penalty.

On the morning of Feb. 16, 2012, witnesses saw Minifie force Lillian Janeth Pleitez-Duarte, with whom he was “romantically involved,” into his black GMC Yukon, Deputy District Attorney Scott McPheron alleged.

When she jumped back out of the SUV and walked off, Minifie “ran toward her and dragged her back into the passenger seat ... climbed over her, struck her” and got behind the wheel, McPheron told the seven-man, five-woman jury.

Minifie drove off and then made a U-turn when he spotted a patrol car responding to another call, and the SUV veered into oncoming traffic. That caught the attention of a police officer who saw the passenger door open during the maneuver and gave chase, according to the prosecutor.

The defendant allegedly ran several red lights while speeding away from police, ultimately colliding head-on with an eastbound Volvo in the 2400 block of West Sixth Street in the Westlake area of Los Angeles.

“He kidnapped her and drove the car 80-90 mph and crashed it and killed her,” McPheron alleged.

Paramedics found Pleitez-Duarte, a 36-year-old mother of three, underneath the dashboard, bloody and unable to be resuscitated.

“Lillian had additional injuries inconsistent with the crash ... black eyes, swollen eyes ... a cut on her wrist,” which was bandaged, the prosecutor said.

She had tried to reach her daughter by phone and left messages asking for help in getting away from Minifie, McPheron told jurors.

The Volvo’s driver, who is scheduled to testify, was also hurt in the collision.

Defense attorney Kimberly Curran told the jury that “the witnesses, the police officers, even the prosecutors don’t know the whole story ... beginning with what happened in Jeffrey Minifie’s apartment that night.”

Curran said the pair met up somewhere near Studio City that evening.

“Miss Pleitez, along with Mr. Minifie, was using cocaine,” she told jurors. “Miss Pleitez attempted suicide that night.”

At some point in the night, Minifie hit Pleitez-Duarte and she broke a glass over his head, the defense attorney said. After taking more cocaine that morning, they had breakfast at a McDonald’s and got into an argument about another woman, according to Curran.

“Miss Pleitez became hysterical,” she said.

Curran said there was no good explanation for why Minifie fled from police.

“No one will ask you to condone this behavior (or) excuse Mr. Minifie,” the defense attorney told jurors, while maintaining that her client had “experienced profound remorse.”

She told jurors to “hold Jeffrey Minifie responsible for the crimes he did commit,” including evading police and causing serious injury. But her client didn’t intend to kidnap the victim and this is “not a case of murder,” Curran said.

City News Service