A 24-year-old Huntington Beach man was on Monday convicted of murder in the hit-and-run death of a bicyclist killed in Newport Beach a year earlier.
Neil Storm Stephany was driving under the influence of heroin on Oct. 19, 2014, when he swerved into the bike lane on East Coast Highway and fatally struck Shaun Eagleson, 30, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Stephany had a previous driving under the influence conviction and thus faced a murder charge in Eagleson’s death, the DA’s office said.
He was found guilty of one felony count of murder by a Santa Ana jury, and faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison. He will be sentenced Jan. 15.
After hitting Eagleson, of Fountain Valley, in his Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, Stephany drove into the guardrail and then left the scene without stopping to render aid.
Witnesses reported Stephany driving erratically before and after the crash, which occurred in a scenic area near Crystal Cove.
Newport Beach police arrested him about 30 minutes after the collision. Eagleson died in a hospital less than five hours after being struck.
Stephany signed a Watson advisement in 2011 and 2013 stating he knew he could be charged with murder if he killed someone while driving under the influence, the DA’s office stated.
