http://www.thehawkeye.com/daily/stories/ln20_0902.html

Man's identity queried

Fingerprints say Juan Luna could be one of as many as 10 other people.

By JEFF ABELL

jabell@thehawkeye.com

Who exactly is Juan Pacheso Luna?

Is he Antonio Medina or Antonio Juarez?

Maybe he's Victor Garacia Viramontes, Victor Garcia or any of the six other aliases officials allege were used by Luna who was charged in Des Moines County with vehicular homicide and convicted Aug. 25 of the lesser charge of drunken driving.

"He has no drivers license and possessed papers identifying himself as Juan Luna. But his fingerprints indicate he is really Antonio Medina," said Senior Assistant Des Moines County Attorney Pam Dettmann.

It wasn't until Luna was arrested in December 2004 in connection with a two–vehicle accident that killed Julie Ann Mason, 35, Burlington, that authorities began to suspect he was lying about his identity, according to Dettmann.

Des Moines County Attorney Pat Jackson said fingerprint samples led investigators to several aliases Luna may have used. Luna has been indicted by the U.S. Attorney General's office in Rock Island, Ill., as an illegal immigrant.

Dettmann alleges Luna used aliases when charged for assault in Ohio and after an arrest for drunken driving in Iowa, both of which occurred in the 1990s.

"This isn't the first time he has gotten in trouble with the law and used a different name," Dettmann said.

Throughout Luna's week–long trial for vehicular homicide, the defense attempted to discredit the prosecution's assertions that Luna's vehicle left the westbound lane of U.S. 34 east of Danville and slammed into Mason's vehicle in the eastbound lane.

The prosecution argued based on the pattern of debris that Luna caused the accident, but a defense witness disputed that assertion.

Toxicology tests taken from Luna at 4:14 a.m. Jan. 5, 2004, indicated his blood alcohol content was 0.042. The level at which a person is considered impaired in Iowa is 0.08.

However, prosecutors alleged through "retrograde extrapolation" Luna's blood alcohol at the time of the accident was between 0.130 and 0.160.

Des Moines County Medical Examiner Eugenio Torres testified Mason died from trauma to the left side of her head.

Luna is being held in Des Moines County jail pending his Oct. 3 sentencing hearing. Luna will likely be transferred at that time to federal custody, according to county officials.