ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Case # 14HF2889
Date: January 15, 2016
*Defendant in this case was convicted of murder due to a prior DUI conviction
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man who was driving under the influence of heroin was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison today for murdering a bicyclist in a hit-and-run crash in Newport Beach. Neil Storm Stephany, 24, Huntington Beach, was found guilty by a jury Oct. 26, 2015, of one felony count of murder.
At approximately 5:00 p.m. on Oct 19, 2014, Stephany drove a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, while under the influence of heroin, traveling westbound on East Coast Highway in Newport Beach. Near the intersection just east of Los Trancos, Stephany swerved into the bike lane and drove into the back of 30-year-old bicyclist Shaun Eagleson. The defendant continued to drive into the guardrail and left the scene without stopping the truck to render aid or assistance to the victim. Continue reading