WOODLAND — The driver in a high-speed pursuit and crash that resulted in his passenger’s death has been ordered to stand trial on murder and other charges.
Thomas Philip Leae underwent a preliminary hearing Monday in Yolo Superior Court, nearly five months after being found mentally incompetent to stand trial and hospitalized at a state mental health facility in Atascadero, which certified him as competent several weeks ago.
A judge found there was sufficient evidence for Leae to stand trial on the charges against him, which in addition second-degree murder include evading a peace officer with reckless driving and vehicle theft. A count of driving under the influence of drugs was dismissed.
Leae, a 21-year-old Washington resident, is accused of leading California Highway Patrol officers on a 40-mile high-speed chase from Glenn County to Yolo County on Nov. 30, 2015, driving the wrong way on Interstate 5 at one point until he lost control of the stolen Honda Accord and crashed near the Dunnigan rest area.
His passenger, 18-year-old Ailiana Fualilia Siufanua, died at the scene. She was a suspect in the homicide of a Vancouver, Wash., pawn shop employee that occurred several days earlier, and police say Leae is a person of interest in the crime because he was seen with Siufanua in the days surrounding the murder.
Leae, who remains in Yolo County Jail custody, is due back in court Aug. 16 for arraignment.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene