A drunk driver whose car crashed into a palm tree in Sunset Cliffs will be sentenced Sept. 1 after he pleaded guilty to child endangerment and drunk driving, which injured one of his children.
The District Attorney’s office will not seek more than one year in jail for Noel Bences, 29, though the maximum sentence is six years and eight months in prison, according to court records.
Bences was driving at a blood/alcohol level of .23, which is almost three times the legal limit, records say. His car overturned May 12 after he struck the tree at 1100 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. at 8:30 p.m.
Police officers found empty bottles of alcohol in the car. Charges of child endangerment involving his two other children were dismissed by San Diego Superior Court Judge Amalia Meza after he pleaded guilty to the other two counts.
Benches remains free on $100,000 bond under condition that he wear a Scram device that determines if he ingests alcohol. He is also banned from driving with children as passengers, according to court records.
