Camarillo Man Charged With Murder in Hit-and-Run Crash That Killed Deputy

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A 25-year-old Camarillo man who was allegedly drunk when he fatally struck a Ventura County Sheriff’s Office deputy on the 101 Freeway was charged Thursday with murder, authorities said.

Kevin Hogrefe consults with his attorney at his arraignment hearing in Ventura on Oct. 30, 2014. (Credit: KTLA)

As his family watched in tears, Kevin Hogrefe entered a not guilty plea Thursday afternoon in Ventura on murder and felony hit-and-run charges.

Hogrefe was under the influence of alcohol when he crashed into 41-year-old Deputy Eugene Kostiuchenko early Tuesday, according to the Ventura County District Attorney Gregory Totten.

Kostiuchenko had conducted a traffic stop and was walking back to his vehicle on the side of the 101 Freeway near Lewis Road when he was struck.

After hitting Kostiuchenko and nearly striking two other deputies, Hogrefe continued driving northbound on the freeway and crashed about 2 miles away at Las Posas Road, authorities said.

Deputy Eugene Kostiuchenko was fatally struck by a suspected DUI driver on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014. (Credit: Ventura County Sheriff’s Office)

Kostiuchenko, who had served the department for 11 years, died instantly, Sheriff Geoff Dean said.

Funeral services, open to the public, were scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village.

Though Hogrefe was being held on suspicion of felony DUI, no drunken driving charge was announced by the DA.

Prosecutors successfully sought an increase in Hogrefe’s bail from $150,000 to $500,000. If bail is posted, Hogrefe will be required to wear a GPS monitoring ankle bracelet, the judge said at Thursday’s hearing.

Hogrefe, who himself appeared to hold back tears in the courtroom, was convicted for a DUI offense in Nevada earlier this year, prosecutors said at the hearing.

Family members declined to comment at the courthouse.

Investigators examine a car that struck Ventura County Deputy Eugene Kostiuchenko on Oct. 28, 2014. (Credit: KTLA)

Investigators were seen searching his apartment Thursday morning, a neighbor told KTLA.

California Highway Patrol Officer Steve Reid confirmed a search warrant was served at Hogrefe’s home as part of the ongoing investigation, but Reid would not say what was found.

KTLA’s Jennifer Thang contributed to this article.