Last Updated on January 31, 2021 by CCAR Staff
RIVERSIDE — A man who fatally struck a 76-year-old pedestrian in Moreno Valley while driving under the influence was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison.
A Riverside jury in November found 36-year-old Roben Gaby Noujaim of Moreno Valley guilty of felony vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, as well as driving under the influence resulting in great bodily injury and misdemeanor driving under the influence of a controlled substance.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge David Gunn imposed the sentence provided under state guidelines.
Noujaim was arrested in April following an eight-month investigation by sheriff’s detectives into the September 2019 death of Lorenzo Romero, also of Moreno Valley.
After completing the investigation into Romero’s death, the case was submitted to the District Attorney’s Office, culminating in an arrest warrant being issued for Noujaim, who was taken into custody without incident after he surrendered at the sheriff’s Moreno Valley station.
Sheriff’s Deputy Rafael Lopez said that the victim was walking on Graham Street just north of Old Valley Drive when he was struck by a sedan about 7:45 p.m. on Sept. 10, 2019.
Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene roughly 25 minutes later.
Noujaim did not flee and was arrested on the spot, but was released from jail that week pending further investigation.
He had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
