The man pleads not guilty to hitting the woman and dragging her with the truck

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) — Sean Ginder pleaded not guilty Monday to a felony hit-and-run charge for allegedly hitting and killing a homeless woman with his truck before authorities say he dragged the woman’s body eight miles under his car.

If a guilty verdict is reached, Jinder could receive a maximum prison sentence of four years.

Ginder was allegedly responsible for the death of 29-year-old Monique Conreraz, while crossing the street near Millburn and Herndon avenues in May 2022.

Conreraz’s body was found about eight miles away in La Quinta at Shaw and Cornelia Avenues.

While Jinder faces four years in prison, advocates say the single charge against Jinder for her brutal and tragic death is not enough.

“I am very upset. I am absolutely disgusted with the justice system here in Fresno. It has failed Monique, other low-income individuals, other people of color, and other unhoused individuals like we are nothing,” said Dez Martinez, founder of the Fresno Homeless Alliance. .

Martinez said she and others will not stop fighting for justice for Monique, who she says has only been homeless for about three months.

“A loving, caring, joyful, happy person, always smiling, you know? She had a lot of trauma that she endured but she smiled and got through it,” Martinez said.

Martinez says Ginder’s prior criminal history, which includes three DUIs, should warrant a minimum charge of vehicular manslaughter.

It’s not that simple, says defense attorney and legal analyst Mark King.

“In order to be charged with vehicular manslaughter, you have to have some type of witness or other evidence that the driver was doing something negligent or illegal when he struck the pedestrian,” King said.

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office previously told us it believes felony hit-and-run is the only charge that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

King says the brutal nature of Contreraz’s death could influence the verdict.

“Driving eight miles, with a body under your car and fleeing not only the scene but fleeing from where you left your car…that could be used in court as evidence of a guilty mind,” King said.

Shawn Ginder will return to Fresno County Superior Court for his preliminary hearing on November 28.