S. Tahoe man with DUI history indicted for murder
By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee
A man with multiple convictions for driving under the influence has been indicted for murder in the September death of a South Lake Tahoe man.
An El Dorado County criminal grand jury on Thursday returned an indictment against Larry L. Halverson, 60, charging him with murder and other offenses in connection with the death 51-year-old Patrick Purnell, according to an El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office news release. Purnell died when he was struck by a car driven by Halverson, who investigators allege was under the combined influence of alcohol and cocaine at the time.
Halverson did not immediately stop but returned to the scene later. At the time, authorities said, his driver’s license was both revoked and suspended for prior DUI convictions.
Purnell was crossing Ski Run Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe near the intersection with Highway 50 when he was struck, officials said. He was transported to Renown Hospital, where he later died as a result of his injuries.