SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A man facing criminal charges in connection with a triple-fatal crash tried to plead guilty Wednesday, but a Sacramento judge did not allow the plea.

The suspect, 25, is accused of felony hit-and-run and a probation violation after Saturday’s wreck.

During an arraignment hearing Tuesday, he tried to plead no contest to the current charges against him. A judge at that time refused to allow he to plead no contest, citing a law that requires families of victims be informed in advance of significant hearings so that they can be present.

The judge chastised his attorney Wednesday for what is being called an unusual defense maneuver. The defendant was in court for a continuation of his arraignment.

The prosecution was allowed to add four charges to his case Wednesday for causing great bodily injury.

The judge said with ongoing investigations, it’s not unusual to add charges. The prosecution said it intends to pursue vehicular homicide charges against he if its investigation can prove it.

“If we are able to find sufficient evidence to charge vehicular homicide, then we will do so,” prosecutor Steve Grippi said.

Defense attorney Jennifer Moncrieff said she intends to appeal the judge’s decision.

Moncrieff said her client should have the right to plead guilty to the original charge of hit-and-run, meaning that he would only face four years in jail.

“The suspect wanted to accept the punishment and the penalty for what he had done,” Moncrieff said. “The prosecution had filed one count of hit-and-run as a felony. The suspect was willing on the very first court date to come in and accept responsibility for that, and essentially, the prosecution objected to that and wouldn’t let him do that. So we’re sort of in legal limbo right now.”

None of the victims’ family members were in court Wednesday.

He is due back in court on March 24.

The suspect, who just had his driver’s license reinstated last week, was arrested over the weekend in connection with the wreck.

Police said two vehicles collided near the middle of Cosumnes River Boulevard and Center Parkway at about 3:37 a.m. Saturday. An Acura and a Lincoln were involved in the crash, and it appears someone ran a red light, officials said.

Gregory Valenzuela, 22, Raoul Perez, 23, and Manuel Ruiz, 25, were killed in the crash. Another man was injured.

According to records from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the suspect has had his license suspended five times since 2007. The suspensions include a drunken driving offense, failure to appear for a DUI notice, not completing a DUI treatment program and for canceling his auto insurance.

DMV records show that his license was last reinstated Thursday.

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SACRAMENTO, CA – A man who witnessed a hit and run crash that seriously injured a bicyclist snatched the suspect’s keys from the ignition of her SUV at a red light, according to the California Highway Patrol.

CHP Sgt. Chris Lane said the bicyclist was struck Sunday at 7:20 p.m. on Folsom Boulevard under the Highway 50 overpass and dragged a quarter mile to Norcade Circle.  The white Ford Explorer then struck another vehicle on the street, which tore off the Explorer’s front bumper.  The victim was dislodged from underneath the SUV as the driver made a three-point turn back toward Folsom Boulevard, witnesses said.

Lane said the woman driving the SUV continued west for another three-quarters of a mile before stopping for a red light at Watt Avenue, where the crash witness grabbed the car keys and detained the driver until a CHP officer arrived.

The 24-year-old man who stopped the SUV told CHP officers he did not want to speak to the media or be identified publicly.  His wife stayed at the scene to help the victim while he chased the Explorer.

While praising the driver’s actions, Lane said it’s generally a good idea for witnesses to avoid direct contact and to call 911.

The Explorer was reportedly weaving across the two traffic lanes of westbound Folsom Boulevard before it drifted into the bike lane and hit the cyclist, according to the CHP.

The victim, Sanjay Patel, 26, was taken to the UC Davis Medical Center with serious injuries.  Co-workers at the Subway sandwich shop near the crash site said Patel had just closed the shop and was riding home.  A hospital spokesperson said Patel remained in serious condition Monday.

The SUV driver, Amira Fakira, 23, was arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run, and felony drunken driving.  Sacramento County Jail records indicated Fakira was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail on charges of felony hit and run and suspected drunken driving.  Her arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in a jailhouse courtroom.

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Despite the hiring freeze and the projected budget shortfall, the Sacramento Police Department was able to hire 11 additional officers from an academy class that graduated Thursday night at the Sacramento Convention Center.

Some last-minute wrangling between Mayor Kevin Johnson and City Manager Rick Kerridge on Thursday morning allowed the savings from positions left vacant during the department’s hiring freeze to be transferred into signing up new officers said Steve Maviglio, Johnson’s spokesman.

The Sacramento Police Department still needs to close a $1.8 million shortfall in its budget to comply with mandated cuts.

The department is still technically in a hiring freeze, said police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong. While the department still accepts lateral transfers from other agencies, hiring academy grads allows the Sacramento Police Department to add bodies and save money.

“We’re talking about folks where we get the cost savings by hiring them at the base salary,” Leong said.

It will still take about six months to get the recruits hired on at the Sacramento Police Department, Leong said. New members of the department need to complete a mandatory background investigation and submit to various physical and psychological tests before they are hired, he said.

An entry-level wage for a Sacramento Police officer is $15 per hour, Leong said. However, when factoring in the time it takes for another officer to train a recruit and other costs, hiring a new officer costs the department about $100,000 per year, he said. Field training for a new officer typically takes about six months, he said.

But adding officers is essential, even in during the recession, Leong said. Currents projections show the department will be down 98 officers at the beginning of the year, he said.

“When we come out of (the budget crisis), we don’t want to be 100 to 200 officers down,” he said.

One officer had already been hired on before he entered the academy, Leong said. That officer signed on before the department’s current fiscal difficulties, he said.

Johnson officially made the announcement to a large round of applause at the academy graduation.

“This commitment (to public safety) is something I campaigned on and I’m very proud to say that we’ll be able to keep these young people we invested in right here in Sacramento,” Johnson said. “Crime doesn’t wait on a struggling economy to get better.”

The Sacramento Police Academy graduated 27 new officers in total this class. Some will go on to work at local departments such as the Roseville Police Department and the Woodland Police Department. Others will go on to work at more distant locales, such as the Berkeley Police Department and the Menlo Park Police Department.