After deliberating for 1 1/2 days, a jury convicted a drunk driver on Jan. 26 of two counts of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the deaths of his two passengers when he crashed his new car into two trees in La Jolla.

Peter John Meno, 28, had been free on $100,000 bond, but San Diego Superior Court Judge Evan Kirvin remanded him to jail at the request of Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright after the verdicts were read.

Jaden Rowley, 22, of Oceanside, and Matthew “Max” Cate Jr., 19, of Vista, were both killed on Nov. 22, 2020, after Meno made a left-hand turn onto Girard Avenue from Torrey Pines Road at 3:15 a.m. while Meno was looking for a taco shop.

Bright said Meno faces a maximum 9-year term in state prison when Kirvin sentences him on March 3.

“We feel good about the verdict,” said Rowley’s mother, Neicy Rowley afterward. “I don’t think 9 years is fair enough to split between two dead kids.”

“Peter Meno deserves to be in prison not only for killing our boys but for taking absolutely no responsibility,” said Cate’s mother, Pamela Cate, afterward.

The nine-man, three-woman jury acquitted Meno of two counts of gross negligence and instead found him guilty of vehicular manslaughter with ordinary negligence, which is what his attorney, Jodi Green, asked the jury to consider.

Jurors also found that Meno did not make an unsafe lane change. He lost control of the Nissan Altima at the turn, crashed into two trees and his front right tire flew off.

This difference for Meno comes to three fewer years in prison. Had he been convicted of two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, Meno could have been sentenced to 12 years in prison, said the prosecutor.

“I think (the verdict) should be gross negligence,” said Pamela Cate, adding that jurors, nevertheless, “did their job.”

“We’re hoping for the maximum,” said Neicy Rowley.

Family members will be present at the sentencing and will give victim impact statements.

Jurors also convicted Meno of driving on a suspended license. He testified he lost his driver’s license after running a red light and speeding.

Both mothers said they were appalled at Meno’s testimony when he blamed the accident on their sons’ behavior in the vehicle. Meno testified that both men unfastened their seat belts and stuck their bodies outside the windows and in effect, causing the accident.

“It was so loaded with baloney and lies,” said Pamela Cate about Meno’s testimony.

Meno testified his passengers were both drunk, and that while he had been drinking, “I felt OK to drive.”

Both passengers died from multiple skull fractures. Bright said almost every bone in Cate’s skull was crushed, as he was thrown from the car.

Green argued the case was about “the danger of disruptive passengers” and that they created “an emergency inside the car.” She also acknowledged that Meno made mistakes, such as lying to police and drinking alcohol.

Green said Meno was driving at 41 mph at the time of impact when he hit the trees. He wasn’t injured in the crash and he testified he called 911 as he was giving CPR to Cate.

Kirvin discovered as he read the verdict forms that jurors did not fill out some forms that asked whether Meno had committed great bodily injury to both victims. The verdicts were read, but the judge sent them back into deliberations after talking with both attorneys about the blank verdict forms.

Jurors later affirmed that Meno had committed great bodily injury, considering both victims had died. Jurors were apparently confused when they left some verdict forms blank.

Bright argued that Meno was driving at an estimated blood/alcohol level of .11 to .14 and that his blood/alcohol level was .087 two hours after the crash. It is a felony to drive at .08 blood/alcohol level.

Jurors also convicted him of driving with a measurable amount of alcohol and they found two allegations true that he drove at an unsafe speed and represented a danger.

During the two-week trial, 10-11 family members of both victims attended every single day. Meno’s sister and his girlfriend also attended. Approximately 20 people watched the trial online on some days.

Green asked Kirvin to allow Meno to remain free on bond, saying he was working, lived with a family, and had come to court every day.

The judge replied that a convicted person is not entitled to have bail and he had to consider public safety.

One male juror was deaf, so the court appointed two sign language interpreters to interpret the spoken words to the juror. One interpreter was present in the jury deliberation room so the deaf juror could participate in the discussions and understand the other jurors.