By John Scheibe
Ventura County Star
VENTURA, Calif. — A Camarillo man was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison Monday for killing a Ventura County Sheriff’s deputy in 2014.
“This is by far the most difficult case I have ever dealt with,” Superior Court Judge Matthew Guasco told the court moments before sentencing Kevin Hogrefe for the death of Yevhen “Eugene” Kostiuchenko.
Hogrefe, 27, struck and killed Kostiuchenko as he was entering northbound Highway 101 along the Lewis Road on-ramp shortly after 1 a.m. Oct. 28, 2014. Hogrefe had a blood-alcohol level of at least 0.24 at the time, three times the legal limit.
Deputies soon found Hogrefe sitting in his car after he had driven off the Las Posas off-ramp into a field of ice plants about a mile and a half north of where Kostiuchenko was killed.
In October, Hogrefe was convicted of second-degree murder and felony fleeing the scene of an accident.
Guasco sentenced Hogrefe to 15 years to life on the murder charge and an additional three years for fleeing the scene of an accident. The sentences are to be served concurrently.
“I’ve been associated with the law and courts for over 30 years,” Guasco said. “It is rare that I find myself speechless.”
Monday’s hearing started with Rebecca Day, a Ventura County senior deputy district attorney, showing the court a video detailing Kostiuchenko’s life.
Born in Ukraine, Kostiuchenko was intensely curious about the world from a young age, his father, Anatoliy Kostiuchenko, told the court.
His father said his son was raised in a simple village.
“We drank from a well and utilized an outhouse,” the elder Kostiuchenko said.
His son later attended a prestigious university in Moscow, one where many students were allowed to attend because of their connection with the Communist Party elite. But his son was admitted because he was a superior student, he said.
The future Ventura County deputy met his American wife, Maura Kelley, while he was on assignment in Ventura County with the Ukrainian military, working with the FBI on an international money-laundering case. Kostiuchenko later moved to California and started working for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services in 2003. He soon worked as a patrol deputy, the job he had when he was killed.
Kelley recalled the night she was told by Sheriff Geoff Dean that her husband had been killed.
“Suddenly, with those words, all of the sunshine in my life disappeared,” she told the court, noting it was inconceivable “that I would never see his loving face again.”
Kelley said she wanted to go to the accident scene but authorities would not let her. She said it was only during Hogrefe’s trial that she saw the photographs that showed just how gruesome her husband’s death had been.
She said the impact of Hogrefe’s car left Kostiuchenko with “almost every bone in his body broken.” Rather than stop and render aid, she said, Hogrefe fled, leaving her husband “to die on the cold asphalt alone.”
Hogrefe sat still next to his attorney, Justin Tuttle, as Kelley and others addressed the court.
Kelley told Guasco that Hogrefe showed no signs of remorse, something that “absolutely floors me.”
As to forgiveness, Kelley said, “It’s too late for that.”
Day told Guasco that Hogrefe had shown a complete disregard for the safety of others.
“Society is at risk when the defendant is nearby,” she said.
During the trial, jurors were told that the night of the accident, Hogrefe had spent more than five hours at a Pickwick Drive bar in Camarillo, where he drank six bottles and four mugs of beer. He left that bar about 12:30 a.m. and crossed an alleyway to another bar, where he drank some more, jurors were told.
After being asked to leave the second bar, Hogrefe got in his car and tried to drive to a fast-food restaurant south of the 101 along Las Posas Road.
Hogrefe’s father, Scott, pleaded with Guasco to show his son clemency.
“On behalf of myself and Kevin and his family, we offer our most sincere condolences” to Kostiuchenko’s family and friends, Scott Hogrefe said.
“We, too, mourn the traffic loss of Deputy Kostiuchenko,” he said. He noted that Kostiuchenko’s death has caused his son an immense amount of remorse, sadness and suffering.
“This has been a complete and total nightmare for Kevin and our family,” Scott Hogrefe said. “Along with Kevin, we have longed for a magic prayer to undo this tragedy,” he said. “Kevin never intended to harm anyone in his entire life.”
Hogrefe said his son joined Alcoholics Anonymous after Kostiuchenko’s death and has never drunk alcohol again.
“Kevin firmly believes in and is completely committed to sobriety for the rest of his life,” his father said. “He has done everything he could in the past two years to be positive and constructive.” Scott Hogefre said his son has also taken college classes and worked.
“I and my family can only sit and wonder how justice can possibly be served by a long (prison sentence) because of this tragic accident,” said the elder Hogrefe.
“We struggle daily to find peace of mind,” he said. “Please find it within your hearts to understand Kevin’s actions and to forgive him.”
Hogrefe’s attorney, Justin Tuttle, told Guasco that his client was “prepared to accept punishment for his actions.”
“He is horrified by his actions and has profound sorrow for the pain and suffering he has caused.”
As proof, Tuttle cited a letter he sent to the Ventura County prosecutor’s office in April, stating Hogrefe had agreed to plead guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and serve an upper term of 10 years in prison. Tuttle said Hogrefe had also agreed to plead guilty to hit-and-run after manslaughter and serve another five years in prison, for a total of 15 years.
“My client did want to accept responsibility for what he felt he had committed,” Tuttle said. “My client throws himself on the mercy of the court. We ask for equal justice under the law.”
Tuttle declined to comment on the sentence after Monday’s hearing. He also would not comment on whether any appeals were planned.