VISTA — A new readiness conference has been scheduled in the case of a man charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
Emery Chalekian — a 12-year-old student at Park Dale Lane Elementary School who collected Pura Vida bracelets — attempted to cross Encinitas Boulevard in a marked crosswalk on April 25, 2025, when she was fatally struck by a Nissan Xterra, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
The car had run a red light and hit a Ford Fusion as well.
Eddie Sengendo, 44, was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
The trial is still set to begin on May 11, but during an April 14 readiness conference, a second such conference was scheduled for April 27.
Sengendo was not present in court on April 14.
Judge Adelaida Lopez said in court that in advance of the upcoming readiness conference, she “anticipated that the parties are working toward resolution.”
Both Kristin Marshall, a prosecutor with the District Attorney’s Office, and Jay Temple, Sengendo’s attorney, answered in the affirmative, indicating that both sides would work toward a plea agreement or another way to avoid a trial.
Sengendo pleaded not guilty at the arraignment hearing in November through his attorney. Sengendo was lawfully absent from court that day.
On April 14, Lopez said to Temple that “if there’s going to be a change of plea on April 27, your client is ordered to be personally present.”
Sengendo is also prohibited from driving an automobile as a pretrial condition.
John Chalekian, Emery’s father, told The Coast News that he looked forward to the end of the court proceedings because “Emery wants us to spread love and light.”
“We hope the defendant finds it in his heart to do the right thing and allow this hurtful process to end sooner rather than later,” he said.
