The marine charged with killing furry community member Furp in February 2009 has changed his plea to guilty, according to documents filed Thursday in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Jason Robert Reyna initially plead not guilty to charges of causing injury while driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol level higher than 0.08%. Both are felony charges due to Furp's death. The defendant appears to have no prior record, and was spared the charges of vehicular manslaughter or second-degree murder. However, he may be subject to military justice following his sentence.

Furp's death was widely reported and resulted in the creation of a LiveJournal community dedicated to his memory. His collection of furry artwork and personal effects were auctioned off at Midwest FurFest 2009, raising over a thousand dollars for the convention charity.

"Patrick "Furp" Reed was a veteran of the Iraq War where he served
with the US Navy. In the course of his duties he made life better for
many a brave Marine. Furp lost his life in a tragic accident outside
of a military base in California when he was struck by another vehicle
while riding his beloved motorcycle. Ironically, the other driver was
himself a Marine. Early reports indicated that the other driver was
intoxicated, although later information suggested that the collision
was simply a tragic accident.

Furp, who was recently killed in a collision with a drunk driver

Furp, known outside the fandom as Patrick Reed, 29, was killed on the evening of February 18th, 2009, when his motorcycle was involved in a collision with a vehicle being driven by an intoxicated Marine.

Furp was an Iraq war veteran and regular staff member at Anthrocon, Califur, FurFright, Midwest FurFest and the Rocket City FurMeet; regularly providing operations and first-aid assistance. He was travelling on Highway 62 in southern California when he was struck by a vehicle moving at 65mph (104 kph), he was thrown from his motorcycle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hundreds of memorials have since been left on news articles and his LiveJournal account. A memorial community has also been set up for people to mourn the loss of Furp.

Furp at Dorsai Thing 31

Long-time fandom member and convention volunteer Furp (Patrick Reed) died yesterday in an accident on the roads close to his work at the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps base in California.^[1]

Furp was riding his motorcycle on Highway 62 when a Marine turned left in front of him.^[1][2][3][4] He was pronounced dead on the scene. He was 29.^[5]

Furp was a regular member of Anthrocon operations staff, as well other conventions such as Califur, FurFright, Midwest FurFest and Rocket City FurMeet, and provided expertise in first-aid.

The report of Furp's death resulted in an outpouring of emotion from friends and well-wishers. A LiveJournal community,   remember_furp, has been set up in his memory.^[6]

Furp's memorial service will be held at Heritage Funeral Home, 16880 National Ave., New Berlin, WI 53151 (262-901-1140), likely on February 28.^[7][8]