Marina PD’s request of no bail was denied for Daniel John Wetle. Then he killed someone.

After Marina police stopped resident Daniel John Wetle for reckless driving and found him in possession of a ghost gun – an illegal gun assembled with parts that were legally purchased – they executed a search of his home on March 28 and found a pound of cocaine and 1,000 Xanax bars intended to be sold, 11 guns, ammunition and $30,000 in cash. Considering the growing problem of fentanyl-laced drugs, Marina Police Chief Tina Nieto says her department felt Wetle posed a threat to the community, and they wanted him held without bail.

“This was not his first arrest and we were really concerned about the drugs,” Nieto says. “We want to remove the dealers.”

Yet, Wetle would later be released on bail, with deadly consequences. Around 6pm on Aug. 13, while his drugs and guns case was pending, Wetle was drunk and under the influence of drugs, driving a BMW westbound on Highway 68 near Spreckels Boulevard when he allegedly swerved into the opposite lane and slammed into a Toyota Camry, killing 48-year-old Salinas resident Wsvaldo Perez Vasquez and injuring Perez’s passenger, Cecilia Angel-Tinoco. Wetle sustained minor injuries.

Wetle is now being held without bail on a vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated charge. He appeared in court on Aug. 23 with his attorney from the previous case, Scott Erdbacher. Wetle’s next day in court is set for Sept. 8, according to Deputy District Attorney Matthew Johnson, who is prosecuting the case. Erdbacher did not return requests for comment.

Despite Marina police’s wishes, Wetle’s bail for his March arrest was set at $100,000, in alignment with Monterey County Superior Court’s procedural bail schedule. Wetle told prosecutors after his March arrest that he sold drugs to pay Mexican drug cartels and that he had access to boats on the California coast as part of his work with a fishing company. Prosecutors considered Wetle a flight risk and on March 29 requested he not be released or allowed to post bail until the court could determine that the money used for his bail was not drug money.

Wetle was able to make a deal with Santa Ana-based Premiere Bail Bonds to post his $100,000 bail for a fee of $7,000. On April 12, Judge Mark Hood held a hearing to ensure the $7,000 was not illicit. Wetle’s mother appeared in court to present tax documents and answer Hood’s questions about the $7,000; Hood determined the money was legitimate. On April 13, exactly four months before he would crash into Perez’s Camry and kill him, Wetle posted bail and was released from jail.

Court documents show Wetle appeared to be on the right track before the crash. In a letter filed with the court, his drug counselor called him a “model client, punctual and prompt in attendance at all treatment activities. He is a good participant in individual and group therapy.”

Nieto, who criticized the court system for what she feels is too much leniency, says it is “very tragic that we released someone who then went on to kill an innocent person.”