Accused Doctor Held Without Bail : Courts: Prosecutors call physician charged with driving under the influence of drugs when he killed a couple ‘a menace to society.’ They say his body bore both fresh and old needle marks after the crash.

A Laguna Beach physician accused of driving under the influence of drugs when he killed a Mission Viejo couple and critically injured their daughter was described as a “menace to society” and ordered held without bail Thursday.

Prosecutors revealed that Dr. Ronald Joseph Allen, 31, who had a history of alcohol- and drug-related arrests before the fatal crash Sunday, had both fresh and old needle marks on his body when he was arrested, although no explanation was given for the marks.

During Allen’s brief court appearance, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Molko also gave new details about the head-on collision that killed Mark and Noreen Minzey and has left their 11-year-old daughter, Karie, clinging to life.

On the day of the crash, Allen was driving on a temporary driver’s license he obtained by altering his name and birth date on the application to the Department of Motor Vehicles, Molko said. His permanent driver’s license had been suspended following an earlier drunk-driving arrest.

Molko further disclosed Thursday that the physician was seen driving erratically before the accident. Witnesses said Allen barely missed hitting two other cars moments before crashing into the Minzeys’ as they drove on Santiago Canyon Road outside the Orange city limit, the prosecutor said.

“He’s a menace to society and we should keep him off the street,” Molko said outside of court, explaining why he sought and was granted a no-bail hold on Allen. Molko also told Orange County Municipal Judge William L. Evans that Allen is a flight risk.

Allen’s arraignment on two charges of gross vehicular manslaughter was postponed until July 23 so his court-appointed attorney would have time to prepare. If convicted of the charges, Allen would face a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.

“I have no assets,” Allen said twice when Evans asked whether he qualified for a free attorney.

Just as he was appearing in court, funeral services were held in a Chicago suburb for Allen’s father, Ronald J. Allen Sr., 62, who died hours before the fatal accident.

Allen has offered his father’s death to explain the accident. “My father died. I was upset and my father died,” Allen told reporters as he was led to jail on Wednesday.

Molko said an additional charge will be filed against Allen for the injuries suffered by Karie Minzey, although prosecutors are waiting to determine the extent of her injuries before doing so, he said.

On Thursday, she was reported in critical but stable condition in a local hospital.

Prosecutors are also considering boosting the charges against Allen to second-degree murder counts. Such charges in fatal drunk-driving cases are rare, but are used in instances where the driver is believed clearly aware of the dangers posed by using drugs, drinking alcohol and driving.

“If anyone knows what drinking and driving and using drugs can do it should be a physician,” Molko told the judge.

Molko, who revealed that needle marks were found on Allen’s arm, had no additional information about the marks. Authorities are waiting for toxicology reports to determine what substances Allen allegedly had in his system.

Details about Allen’s arrests and his apparent substance abuse problems have triggered criticism that law enforcement and state medical officials failed to protect the public.

For example, Allen was ticketed by a local police officer for speeding several hours before the fatal crash, but the officer did not discover an outstanding warrant for Allen’s arrest stemming from a 1992 alcohol-related accident, officials said.

California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Angel Johnson said her agency conducted an extensive search following a false report that the CHP had ticketed Allen. Johnson refused to identify the local police department that apparently had stopped Allen.

On June 1, Laguna Beach police arrested Allen on suspicion of public intoxication, resisting arrest and hit and run after he allegedly rammed his car into three parked vehicles.

At the time, according to police reports, Allen was carrying a boxful of prescription drugs which he later told police and officials at South Coast Medical Center he had ingested in an attempt to kill himself. Allen claimed he was distraught over his wife’s death, but there is no evidence he was married at the time.

As a result of the arrest, the South Coast Medical Center immediately cut off Allen’s medical privileges and notified the California Medical Board of the suspension and its circumstances. Instead of prompting an investigation into the doctor’s problems, the report languished on a clerk’s desk for more than a month.

It was not until after Sunday’s tragic crash that the board located the report and launched an investigation.

Even before the Laguna Beach arrest, Allen faced a $7,500 arrest warrant in connection with an April, 1992, Laguna Niguel accident in which, authorities said, Allen rear-ended a car while driving drunk.

As in Sunday’s speeding citation, Laguna Beach police did not detect during Allen’s arrest the warrant entered in the county’s outstanding warrant systems. Police Chief Neil J. Purcell blames the failure on the county’s computer system being down.

A system designed to keep people like Allen off the road failed to do so. Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport) called the criminal justice system “slipshod.”

Kathy Deperi, director of victims services for the Orange County branch of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, expressed anger over the crash and plans to investigate how Allen slipped through the cracks in the system.

“What really hurts in these types of cases, is that many still view them as accidents,” Deperi said. “It’s a crime. We try and stay away from the word accident. It’s a crash, not an accident. . . . It’s murder in our mind.”