Stephen Head was convicted Oct. 1 of vehicular manslaughter in the crash that killed Sacramento

State student Jesse Snow.

The jury reached the verdict after two weeks of deliberation at a Sacramento Superior Court.

Head now faces up to 11 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 3.

One juror was removed from the panel last Monday after prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney

Michael Blazina found in a background check that she had been convicted of drunk driving.

The juror failed to disclose this information during jury selection.

Background checks are not routine for the District Attorney’s office, but Blazina had been

investigating the possible misconduct of another juror. Out of fairness he conducted background

checks on all the jurors.

Both Head and Snow were intoxicated when the crash occurred.

The dismissed juror was replaced by one of two alternate jurors.

Deliberations had been previously prolonged due to juror requests for days off.

On some days they deliberated for only a few hours.

Prior to the dismissal, the jury had reached a standstill.

After the dismissal, Judge James L. Long announced that deliberations, which began Sept. 18, were to

be started again from the beginning. The criminal case against Head is one of two involving the car accident that killed Snow. The first

was a wrongful death suit against Chevy’s for $1.5 million.

Head and Snow had been drinking at Chevy’s Restaurant on Howe Avenue on Oct. 25, 2001, before they

attempted to drive home.

Although Head now claims that Snow was driving, witnesses claim to have seen Head behind the wheel.