Man gets 13 years for Carson manslaughter

David Wayne Roberts, 30, cried as he spoke, choking back tears and making his speech difficult to understand.

[Jeff Schachner]

This Is REAL life and not the further commission of crime when a privileged pro football player named Dante Stallworth got 30 DAYS for running a pedestrian down while driving drunk in Miami.

What a turnaround that LA area gets it right in a Carson court and a manslaughterer like the celebrity NFL player barely gets a slap.

You go LA Carson justice!!!

[Well Deserved]

This man got what he deserved for his actions. Its about time we start handing down harsher sentences for criminals and the crimes they commit. We need to take back our communities!

[Steve]

So, when this guy gets out in 13 years and kills more people, will someone please let the judge in this case know, and tell him that the blood is on HIS hands?

[Southbay Spartan]

Wow. That was a wrenching story. No winners, indeed.

[Average Jane]

Going through an intersection at 80 mph? That's disgusting right there.

[SayWhat]

ran a red light at 80mph? what a dick! lock 'em up and let him out when the person he killed comes vack to life...NEVER!

[LINDA CUNHA]

Today is the beginning of a long overdue healing process for myself and my family. I thank everyone that took the time to follow this story. Today was not a happy day, but a sad day for all. There is no winner here. I walked out of court today feeling i did all that i could to perserve my brother Bill's memory. I feel in my heart that he is with God and the rest of my family.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart

Linda Cunha

[ImSoSorry]

Not to distract from the defendant's deserved sentence, but a lot of truly sick, depraved people have gotten less time for more heinous crimes than David Roberts committed. However, with a record like his, consistency counts. Maybe if it would have been his first offense….

Now on to the poor victim, Bill Cuhna, who obviously had numerous family members who loved him dearly and were greatly affected by his loss. So, why did he have to live in his truck?

I am sorry, but it was just a matter of time. If David Roberts had not come along at 80mph, eventually someone else would have. Inside a truck on the side of the road is not a safe place to live.

I guess my point is, if you have family members that you love and they're living out on the street; help them if you're able to and *if they will let you*. Don't wait until tragedy strikes to realize how much you love them.

Maybe Cuhna's family tried to help him and he refused, or maybe they were unable to help him or did not know his situation. Unfortunately, no one can go back and change things that will bring him back to life.

However, I know there are others out there who allow their family member(s) to be homeless and even refuse to help them when they easily can. Will tragedy open their eyes (and hearts)? Will they wait until it’s too late?

I am very sorry for their loss.

[Mandy Cunha]

Bill Cunha, the victim in this case was my uncle and I just wanted to clear up any misunderstandings that the above poster may have. You may have not been able to catch any of the earlier newspaper articles or posts, but my uncle's living situation was temporary. He had not been sleeping in his truck on the side of the road. He did park in the Alondra Park parking lot some nights, but this had not been happening for very long. This didn't really have anything to do with how he was killed though, the day that he was killed by the defendant he was actually driving along the road just as any of us do. He was running his errands and happened to be crossing the intersection that the defendant decided to run through at 80mph. Could have happened to any one of us. He was in the process of moving to another town to live with my mother. He had decided to wait and spend some nights in his truck until he had tied up his loose ends before the move.

So needless to say, my uncle was/is loved very much and this was just a case of an innocent man minding his own business, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Thank you to all who have followed this case and have been so supportive. Justice has definitely been served, but at a cost to both our families. There are just no winners here.

[T-RX]

Jeff Schachner wrote:

This Is REAL life and not the further commission of crime when a privileged pro football player named Dante Stallworth got 30 DAYS for running a pedestrian down while driving drunk in Miami.
What a turnaround that LA area gets it right in a Carson court and a manslaughterer like the celebrity NFL player barely gets a slap.
You go LA Carson justice!!!

Stallworth didn't have a rap sheet. He was clean..
This guy was on his THIRD STRIKE. Do your homework.

[The Shadow]

God bless Mr. Cunha and his family. I would hope that this is a reminder to all of our local PDs that speeding is what usually kills people in driving accidents. You'd think they would know by now, but I have folks doing at least 70 by my house on Western every morning,day, and night. A rare sight is to see a cop stopping someone for speeding. Usually its for some BS violation where they are sitting in a lot hidden waiting for someone to make a rolling stop. Wake up PDs and start protecting us.