Court Sentences Porterville Mom Who Allowed Alcohol for Underage Party That Resulted in DUI Death
On August 29, 2023, in Department 21 of the Tulare County Superior Court, South County Justice Center, the court sentenced Juana Elias, age 57, to suspended jail and community service for allowing alcohol at an underage party that resulted in a DUI death. Prosecutors argued on the record for an extended jail sentence.
On Halloween night, October 31, 2020, Elias allowed her 19-year-old daughter to host a birthday / Halloween party for her boyfriend at their house. A flyer for the party advertised emojis commonly associated with drugs and alcohol. At the outdoor party, beer and whiskey were plentiful and unsupervised. Alexis Tapia, a 19-year-old guest, was seen consuming multiple whiskey drinks. At approximately 3:45 am, Tapia left the party intoxicated in his large truck. While driving through a residential Porterville neighborhood, Tapia missed a turn and drove into an apartment complex at 60 miles per hour, crashing into a bedroom of a sleeping 13-year-old girl. The victim was pulled from the rubble and later died at a local hospital. Tapia’s blood alcohol content was .18%.
Tapia is currently serving a 15-year state prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2023 to vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury or death and hit and run driving resulting in death.
On July 31, 2023, Elias, who has no prior criminal history, pleaded to a misdemeanor violation of Tulare County ordinance code 5-01-1215: Being a social host allowing a person under 21 to consume alcohol. At sentencing, prosecutors argued for the crime’s maximum sentence of 6 months in jail. The court ultimately sentenced the defendant to 120-days in jail suspended and 80 hours of community service.
The case was prosecuted by Supervising Deputy District Attorney Noell Niayesh and was investigated by the Porterville Police Department.
Media inquiries can be directed to the Office of the District Attorney, County of Tulare Chief Deputy District Attorney Dave Alavezos (559) 636-5494