Woman pleads guilty to Sutter deputy's death in DUI

An Oregon House woman pleaded guilty on Wednesday in connection with the drunken-driving death of a Sutter County sheriff's deputy.

Erin Marie Jasper entered the plea in Yuba County Superior Court to a single felony count of vehicular manslaughter.

Jasper, 26, was the driver in the Nov. 8 crash that killed Deputy Rory Roguski.

Roguski, 25, was thrown from Jasper's 1999 Ford Mustang around 11:40 p.m. when the car slammed into a rock wall on Highway 20 in the Yuba County foothills, outside of Smartsville.

Authorities measured Jasper's blood-alcohol level at .12 percent, District Attorney Pat McGrath said.

Under the deal Jasper made with prosecutors, she faces up to one year in jail and five years on felony probation.

The plea is conditional, meaning Judge Julia L. Scrogin could reject it at the March 4 sentencing.

A judge's decision depends on a variety of factors, including statements from Roguski's family and recommendations from the Yuba County Probation Department.

McGrath said Roguski's family has not said what type of sentence they're hoping Jasper receives.

The Roguski family and several friends were in court Wednesday. They did not speak.

At Jasper's arraignment in December, Roguski's mother, Paulette, asked the judge to release Jasper from jail without posting bail. Jasper has been a civilian employee for the US Department of Defense at Beale Air Force Base since 2007, Capt. Brian Wagner confirmed.

Jasper has no prior criminal history and has cooperated with investigators, authorities said.

Jasper's deal, if accepted, cuts her maximum sentence by three years, authorities said.

The California Highway Patrol requested charges that could have sent Jasper to prison for up to 10 years, but McGrath said evidence did not support a charge of gross negligence.

If the court declines the deal, Jasper's plea would be void and the case would start over, McGrath said.

Two remaining drunken driving-related counts would be dismissed at Jasper's sentencing, McGrath said.

Roguski and Jasper were friends who met up earlier in the day at a party in Auburn, authorities said.

Both were drinking for several hours before the crash.

Roguski's blood-alcohol level was measured at .08 percent, according to the Yuba County Coroner's Office.

Jasper was also hospitalized after the wreck.