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Couple Linked to Fatal Apartment Explosion Agree to Plea Deal

Evan Aviles and Lexie Hutson avoid possible life sentences in plea deal, according to report.

A Livermore couple charged in a fatal apartment explosion due to illegal drug activity agreed to a plea deal Tuesday, according to a report by the Valley Times.

Evan Aviles, 23, and Lexie Hutson, 23, pleaded guilty to lesser charges and avoided possible life sentences, the Times reported.

The two were .

Officials said the illegal drug activity — reported May 21, 2011 — at Aviles' residence on Silver Oaks Way led to an apartment explosion, which critically injured Aviles, Hutson and San Jose-resident Paul Lom.

Police said Lom, 35, was also involved in the dangerous drug activity. He succumbed to his wounds five days later.

Aviles and Hutson had pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder in the death of Lom.

On Tuesday Aviles withdrew that plea and pleaded no contest to the lesser count of involuntary manslaughter, according to the Times. Hutson withdrew her plea to second-degree murder and pleaded no contest to being an accessory, the Times reported.

Further details from the Times report:

In exchange for their plea deals with the Alameda County District Attorney's office, Aviles will receive three years in state prison for involuntary manslaughter. Hutson will receive 5 years of felony probation and serve one year in the county jail for being an accessory. The couple also had charges of manufacturing of a controlled substance dismissed as part of the deal.

View the full article on the Valley Times website.

James Buckley September 26, 2012 at 11:38 am
I don't think so, they look like they had enough physical trama to their bodies to maybe have changed their minds about ways to make money in the future. Not to say they will be sterling citizens from now on, but they may have learned their lessons after being dragged through the court system with lifetime physical scares as constant reminders of their past poor choices.
TrueRealist September 26, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Sentence was much too light. 3 years and the other gets 1 year as opposed to life? I've got $100 that says they end up in jail again after this.
david September 26, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Frankly, it seems like a light sentence. These three put the entire building in jeopardy with no regard for the safety of others. Not to mention the neighbors and emergency responders who live with the trauma of seeing them with their skin peeling off. Ain't a nice visual image to live with.
thomas houghton September 26, 2012 at 02:12 pm
Its ashame what has happened to our once sleepy bedroom town. The disturbing aspect of these events are that I'm sure there are more aspiring drug manufacturers right now, cooking up a batch of death in their apartment kitchens. Scary stuff.
bob September 26, 2012 at 02:16 pm
It wouldn't surprise me if one or both end up back in jail not too long after they are released. The thing I notice about these types of people, is that they never take responsibility for their actions. They are always the victims.
david September 26, 2012 at 03:21 pm
Where are all the comments regarding the oaklandization of livermore, etc? Oh could it be that these criminals live in Livermore and are white? I think the ranters should be focused on criminals and not where they may come from or how (BART) they might get here. We have plenty of them living among us and the stereotypes are more often wrong.
Joe September 26, 2012 at 03:38 pm
If marijuana and hash was legal, it would be made in factories safely, also adding much needed jobs. The drug itself is not bad, it is the people trying to make it at home that is dangerous.
Formula1mom September 26, 2012 at 10:14 pm
Their sentences are a joke! She will likely get credit for time served since she's been incarcerated since June. They endangered the lives of their neighbors with no regard. While they received pathetic criminal sentences, maybe their neighbors could bring a civil suit against them and possibly get some restitution for the hell they had to deal with from their stupidity.
Scott T September 26, 2012 at 10:59 pm
Boy, they sure got a break! I disagree with this plea deal. And dropped the manufacturing drug charges? WTF! Crime does pay!
Scott T September 26, 2012 at 11:07 pm
@James B. Trauma?! What about being punished for breaking the law? Instead they get a break! What about the property damage? AND they were manufacturing drugs? I thought manufacturing drugs was a big deal. Guess it's not.
Scott T September 26, 2012 at 11:07 pm
Very good points David.
Daniel Graham September 26, 2012 at 11:39 pm
@david: Right here! I'm tirelessly promoting my word. You see I invented it. Oaklandization basicly means any kind of degenerate ghettoized behavior that lowers your neighborhood, town and community. Its an all inclusive word and it's colorblind. Knowing no particular race. Just look at those Occupy slackers. The majority were white on drugs and it all festered in Oakland. So you see stereotypes are often correct and ring true. Keep using my word @david. I'm trying to get it in the 2013 edition of the Websters dictionary. Thanks. Wish me luck.
Californicated1 September 27, 2012 at 12:14 am
Mr. Graham Cracker Crust is sadly mistaken if he thinks he coined the term "Oaklandization". And there is evidence through a Google search where it was documented back in 2006 that this term was being used in that context:
http://www.respi.ru/PR/pr122906PiedmontExhibit.html Which appears to be an archived copy of what the Oakland Public Library once displayed. The word is prominently displayed in the second paragraph. However, "Oaklandization" also goes back earlier than that as a word, used in a Summer 2004 publication from Berkeley called "Copwatch", which you can find the word on Page 3: http://www.berkeleycopwatch.org/resources/cwr_summer04.pdf So Mr. Non-Nabisco Not-So-Honey-Made Graham Crackers is going to have to prove that he invented the word, because it's been used even longer than there has been a Livermore "Patch" site for him to use the term as derisively as that poster has. So it appears that this is not Mr. Graham's term, even to copyright. Perhaps he can purchase the domain name, which I see is available, but was once used for a Spanish language website. But that's about as close to a "copyright" he is ever going to see. And given what he has disclosed in this forum about his work at the 3400-3700 block of Piedmont Avenue recently, it could be argued that he is more a catalyst for the "Oaklandization" of Livermore, especially when he brings it home from his work on the site.
Daniel Graham September 27, 2012 at 01:01 am
@fornicated; Capt Buzzkill strikes again. Boy you sure have alot of spare time to that kind thorough research. I bet your just jealous that you didn't think of it. Has anybody ever told you that you need a job and a women? Your abusing yourself on that keyboard and you are going to start to grow hair on your palms. Ha Ha you're just funny. And for your information one of my ancestors did invent the Graham Cracker. Now I given you something to do. Go look that up. I have to get to bed because I have to go to work tomorrow. Thats something not of your experience. Right. Make sure you get your quota of daytime TV. Waste your life away. MEAT.
Californicated1 September 27, 2012 at 01:20 am
You are related to the Reverend Sylvester Graham?
What happened to the family after that? All that promise, and perhaps all that repression that they were trying to fight off when it came to their own urges. That's why Dr. Graham invented the Graham Cracker in the first place. So when you write about my supposed proclivities these days, I can't help but wonder if they have roots in all that frustration your ancestor may have been fighting off and teaching to his descendants since then. Where did your branch go wrong? At least the North Carolina branch made something of themselves to the point that they are world-famous for their evangelism. But your branch (as we have seen from you) has embraced more of an ugly negativism. Probably after developing that snack food and letting others pump it full of sugar, honey, corn syrup and even the high-fructose stuff, what was left to capitalize on that development? For a Scottish-American family that has a lot of promise, the branch that gives us the pitiful poster proselytizing "Oaklandization" seems to have fallen way short of the ambitions that the other branches have given us since arriving here back in the 1730s. And to this descendant of English settlers, the rantings of one Scud go pretty much in one ear and out the other, especially from the scion of a clan known for its recalcitrance to English Law and subjugation.
Roger V. Tranfaglia September 27, 2012 at 02:43 pm
Wow!!!
Every time I check Patch I learn something new! Tell me more!
Joe September 27, 2012 at 02:59 pm
Yes the were making hash and blew up an apartment building, and yes they should do more time than what they got, but if marijuana was legal non of us would even be talking about this because no one would make it in their home. They would just go to the store to buy it. I don't know many people trying to grow tobacco, they just go buy it. A marijuana and hemp crop would open up jobs make money in taxes and hemp is used for lots of things. I think that is the real issue here.
Herb Russell September 27, 2012 at 05:11 pm
My son (10) and my daughter (11) were innocently playing outside when these explosions took place. They saw the horror of peoria burning, heads split open, hands missing, a naked women with flesh falling off her body and bones sticking out. Not to mention the panic of everyone screaming, blood spewing everywhere and the shock of an explosion. I won't tell you how much this scared my children and the nightmares induced. I won't get involved in the pointless discussion of BART and Oakland and race and politics. All I wish to say is that these people did countless harm to dozens of people who lived next to them, not to mention the death that is on their hands. They should be in prison for a life time thinking about what they did. But once again we are reminded that man cannot give man true justice. A sad fact of life, but true nonetheless.
libertus_rebelium September 27, 2012 at 05:52 pm
"everyone would just buy it at the store" Wow, more retarded "legalize" speak. Would you go to the store and buy aspirin if you could grow it in your yard? How about all the people with herb gardens who choose not to go to the store to buy it. The notion that everyone who smokes pot would just go to the store and buy Tylenol brand pot over growing it is seriously lacking critical thinking skills. I guess they also think that people stopped making moonshine or distilling anything at home when Prohibition ended.
bellaseanna September 27, 2012 at 06:09 pm
the answer put these loosers back on the streets with a plea bargin. What a joke!
Joe September 27, 2012 at 07:39 pm
People don't make moonshine in their apartment. Some people make beer. Beer will not explode and kill you and your neighbors. If manufactured correctly and safely, then there is no issue. People may try to grow their own marijuana, but when they realize that it didn't come out right, they will go buy it at the store. That is what connivence is all about. Marijuana is a tougher crop to grow than an average herb. Plus people who have gardens in their back yard have tons of problems with bugs, weather, and other issues (not growing correctly ect.). It is easier to buy it from a store and know it is good, made correctly, and safe. It also would be taxed and supply jobs. Then there is hemp, which would also become legal and also be taxed and supply jobs. There are numerous uses for hemp products. Please do your research before you post meaningless comments with lame arguments and insulting phrases.
Let me help you get started. http://www.prohibitioncosts.org http://www.hempfarm.org/Papers/Hemp_Facts.html
Becky September 27, 2012 at 07:45 pm
I don't think we should put people in jail for life for accidental death, even if they were involved in doing something inherently dangerous and illegal. What punishment would be reserved then for those who intentionally kill people. We can't just lock up everyone we don't like.
Californicated1 September 27, 2012 at 08:04 pm
If your beer is not exploding due to expanding gases released during the fermentation process, than you are not brewing your beer correctly.
David H September 28, 2012 at 05:43 am
This is a cruel joke to all of the people that they effected. I know it's the DA's job to get them a lighter sentence but really??? The only thing I am satisfied with is they can never forget what they did due to the scars.
Joe September 28, 2012 at 11:44 am
I have brewed beer. I have never had it happen, or heard of it happening. Beer will not cause you apartment to explode in a ball of fire and endanger a lot of people. Not sure how you are doing it.
libertus_rebelium September 28, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Thanks for supporting my argument with your beer analogy. Yes, the casual smoker will go to the store the same as the casual beer drinker but that wasn't the argument you made
"it is the people trying to make it at home that is dangerous." Those people are not going to stop and pay top dollar for something they already know how to grow in their closet. This doesn't even get to the argument about our culture being completely incapable of governing its own indulgences. Here's a taste; with the amount of drunks and obese people due to the availability of high calorie food and alcohol, do we really need another vice for our lazy culture to cling to? I can't wait for all of the support groups or even handicap status for stoners who are "addicted" to a pot "disease".
Joe September 29, 2012 at 01:43 pm
People will go buy it because it is way cheaper to buy it than try to grow it, and pay more. Also you risk not getting what you wanted and yielding a bad crop. Also few will grow it because most people who grow, grow to sell and there is no way they would match a companies wholesale prices. Your argument is flawed. By your logic people would grow their own tobacco and brew their own beer. I know a few who brew their own beer, but it is not always good, and they still go buy beer. This is money into the economy. I have never met or heard of anyone growing tobacco at their house.
We are basically living in an age of marijuana prohibition. So you're saying we should go back to banning alcohol and snack foods? If people are fat because of snack foods, that is their own inability to have control or be responsible with snack food. So the few should ruin it for the many? I don't think so. Did you even read the links I posted? I am doubting it.
bullshit September 30, 2012 at 08:48 pm
Really really wtf this is a joke
bellaseanna December 26, 2012 at 10:31 pm
James Buckley dragged thru the court system at the cost of who? I hardly think they paid for it. Who will rent to them next i wonder?
Mya February 26, 2013 at 06:02 am
Wow... You have no idea what actually happened... Nor do you know them. Dont you have something better to do with your life then talk shit on the Internet?

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Nika Megino (Editor) June 17, 2013 at 10:59 am
Hi Christian! Sorry for the trouble! I've gone in and reapproved your posts. I did, however, deleteRead More the duplicates. Please let me know if you have any more trouble with posting, and again, sorry for the inconvenience with our Spambot!
Christian Holm June 17, 2013 at 04:04 pm
Thanks, Nika! I truly appreciate your efforts. I just wish the software would get fixed.
Bridget Carney June 15, 2013 at 10:10 pm
Hi Penelope! I am interested in finding out more about your puppies. Please e-mail me atRead More bridget.carney@gmail.com
DeAnna Senft McDaid June 13, 2013 at 07:32 pm
thank you Lauren
Cindy Eckel June 14, 2013 at 08:01 am
Did you try 'Pleasanton Rentals' in Pleasanton...I know you asked for Livermore but this place hasRead More it all!
DeAnna Senft McDaid June 14, 2013 at 12:44 pm
Thank you Cindy I'll give them a call. apprecitate you taking the time.
Abby and Buddy
Beatrice Karnes June 13, 2013 at 08:48 am
They are beautiful and you described them so well! I hope that someone steps forward quickly! (IRead More have my quota of cats already.)
TrueRealist June 12, 2013 at 06:35 pm
It isn't up to the gov. to help raise your kids. The stork didn't drop the kid off unexpectedly. IfRead More you can't afford kids then don't have them.
barbieann June 13, 2013 at 08:39 am
Wow, so quick to jump to conclusions and judge. Maybe T.G. BUYS the child's lunch. Every schoolRead More sells hot lunch every day. At the majority of our schools, more lunches are bought than given for free.
DeAnna Senft McDaid June 13, 2013 at 12:43 pm
The schools give us 2 options as parents. 1. Buying lunches on campus or 2. Send them with a lunch.Read More Clearly the author of this chose number 1 and the school was OUT leaving the child with NO 3rd option. Shame on that school.
Jason Morgan June 9, 2013 at 09:33 pm
A great issue! However, the rodeo is nothing but animal cruelty wrapped up as "tradition"Read More and "entertainment". Why would the animal's welfare become a concern now? Rodeo performers have been documented beating, kicking, and shocking normally docile cows and horses in chutes and holding pens. "Bucking broncos" and steers are provoked with electric prods, sharp sticks, caustic ointments, and the pinching "bucking" strap, which is what really makes them jump, they are not "wild" and "dangerous" . The cowboys earn points by spurring the bucking horse. I have seen them up close and many are bleeding. Calves, roped when running, have their necks snapped back by the lasso, often resulting in neck and back injuries, bruises, broken bones, and internal bleeding. After their short and painful "careers," animals in rodeos are sent to the slaughterhouse. Dr. C.G. Haber, a veterinarian who spent 30 years as a federal meat inspector, describes the animals discarded from rodeos for slaughter as being "so extensively bruised that the only areas in which the skin was attached [to the flesh] was the head, neck, leg, and belly. I have seen animals with six to eight ribs broken from the spine and, at times, puncturing the lungs. I have seen as much as 2 to 3 gallons of free blood accumulated under the detached skin." Every national animal protection organization opposes rodeos because of their inherent cruelty. Don't feel bad everyone, I used to love the rodeo too. Before I knew better...
Bonbrwneyes June 10, 2013 at 09:13 pm
Something to consider and not pushing it aside because I feel its unimportant, but what I'd love toRead More have access to is how the riders that were hurt are doing today. Two bull riders got gored, one in the back and he was down and out for a bit and then obviously not "okay" as he stumbled out of the arena and then another that got his leg hurt and he couldn't get himself over the gate on his own. Left saturday's Rodeo hoping they were okay and would love follow up if at all possible. Thanks!
Danielle Nabozny June 8, 2013 at 03:00 pm
Thank you! That is what we want to know too. We have had more power outages this week than in theRead More 20+ years total that we have lived in this house!
Lynn June 8, 2013 at 07:03 pm
It would be nice to know, indeed. When my husband called to report the outage the recording saidRead More there were no outages in our area, which was clearly incorrect.
AT June 9, 2013 at 06:00 pm
I got the same thing, no outages when I called. I requested to be contacted by PG&E to explainRead More the problem. No call for that but I did get a "survey" call about their automated system. We have also lived here for 20+ years and never had this many outages.
Kari Hulac (Editor) June 8, 2013 at 12:48 pm
Great photos, Kathie..was the horse being evacuated?
Kathie Seymour-Sindicic June 8, 2013 at 12:54 pm
Thank you!! Yes this lady was evacuating this horse. It was the only one a saw be evacuated.
Californicated1 June 8, 2013 at 11:45 am
Is it on the hill where the gun range is situated or in the flat land around Dagnino Road?
J June 8, 2013 at 11:51 am
not sure, just checked the traffic maps....just said that is was at North Vasco at the reservoir.Read More nothing on the cal fire website
J June 8, 2013 at 11:52 am
here is another article that has some infoRead More http://livermore.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/vegetation-fire-in-north-livermore
mike June 8, 2013 at 11:30 am
The gun range is in North Livermore in the low hills north of town.
Correen Carrera June 8, 2013 at 11:30 am
Gun range is over near Raymond Rd on the other side of 580.
Elizabeth Kelly June 8, 2013 at 10:33 pm
My grandson is in 4 H, and he keeps his three pigs up the hill from the Livermore gun range. TodayRead More he came close to losing the pigs. CALFIRE came in the nick of time and saved the pigs. The fire was very close, and the owners of the property were about to let them loose. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200491718590317&set=pcb.10200491724870474&type=1&theater