A young motorist who struck and killed a retired attorney in National City on Feb. 13 was released from jail Monday night after being sentenced to time he has already served.
Robert Turner Gustafson, 81, was an attorney for 54 years and practiced law in Chula Vista Superior Courtâironically, where the motorist who struck him and left the scene was granted three years probation.
Efrain Gabriel Black, 20, told Judge Francis Devaney he did not see Gustafson, but saw the two dogs he was walking on East 4th Street around 7 p.m.
âI panicked and drove home,â said Black, of San Diego.
Devaney sentenced him to the 63 days he had already served plus 62 days credit for good behavior for a 125-day sentence.
âThis is not a manslaughter case. The crime was leaving the scene,â said Devaney. âThere were no allegations of fault.
He was a scared young kid who left the scene.â
The judge told Black had he stayed at the scene, he might have avoided an arrest and prosecution. Black pleaded guilty to hit and run that resulted in death.
Black was ordered not to use alcohol for the next three years on probation along with a $1,374 fine. He must pay probation costs of $99 per month.
Blackâs parents both died when he was a young child and he had been living with his grandmother and helping to raise his 16-year-old sister, said his attorney, Chelsea Kopp.
His elderly grandmother, Raymunda Chilcutt, tearfully asked the judge âto be understanding for my grandson.â Black worked at a Miramar daycare center.
âGet back to work and take care of your grandmother,â said the judge to Black.
Deputy District Attorney Thomas McClain asked for a 1-year jail term, saying âhe took a valuable member of our community from us.â
Gustafson mentored to a lot of young people, and donated some of his legal services to people who could not pay attorneys fees, said McClain.
Gustafsonâs obituary described him as âa lifelong Democrat who was passionate about conserving natural resources, civil rights and social concerns.â He was a Navy veteran. He is survived by a brother and sister who wrote letters to the judge recommending probation for Black.
Black, who had no prior record, was the kind of person whom Gustafson would have defended, according to the letters from his siblings which were read in court.
âHe was always ready to help anyone in need,â wrote the victimâs sister. âI believe (Black) deserves a second chance.â
Kopp said the victimâs siblings âwent beyond forgivingâ in their letters.
âThis was an accident that was never supposed to occur,â said Black, who said the street was dark and Gustafson was not in a crosswalk when he was struck. âIâm not a horrible person.â
Kopp said Black learned via the news that someone died that night and the next day he discussed it with his family members. They urged him to turn himself in to National City Police, which he did the next day.
Kopp said Black was not a suspect until he voluntarily acknowledged his role to police and his grandmotherâs car only had minimal damage.
âWe think about this every day,â said Blackâs aunt, Ericka Mosca. âWe will make sure Mr. Gustafsonâs legacy lives on.â