A motorist accused of killing a 37-year-old man and injuring three others in a wreck stemming from drugged driving in downtown Riverside pleaded not guilty Friday to second-degree murder and other offenses.
Isaac Isaiah Villalba of Redlands was arrested last month after allegedly causing the multi-vehicle collision at the intersection of Market and Fifth streets that claimed the life of Christian Barragan of Riverside.
Along with murder, Villalba is charged with three counts of driving under the influence of drugs resulting in injuries and one count each of hit-and-run causing death and resisting arrest, as well as sentence-enhancing great bodily injury allegations.
Villalba was arraigned Friday before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Melissa Hale, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for July 10 at the Riverside Hall of Justice and left the defendant’s bail set at $1 million.
He’s being held at the Robert Presley Jail.
Riverside Police Department Sgt. Emilio Angulo said that in the late afternoon hours of April 16, the defendant was at the wheel of a Dodge Challenger going southbound on Market at a “high rate of speed” when he slammed into the rear of a slower moving Honda Civic, pushing the sedan into northbound lanes.
“The Honda collided head-on with a vehicle traveling northbound on Market,” Angulo said. “The Dodge continued and collided with another vehicle as it came to rest.”
Officer Ryan Railsback said Villalba attempted to flee the scene on foot “and resisted officers with violence before being safely taken into custody.” Bystanders captured the confrontation with officers on video, circulated via social media, showing one of the patrolman deploying a stun gun to subdue the defendant.
Barragan, who had been driving the Honda, was taken to Riverside Community Hospital in grave condition. He succumbed to his injuries less than an hour alter.
Villalba, two other motorists and a passenger involved in the wreck suffered minor to moderate injuries and were taken to the same hospital for treatment. The defendant was cleared for booking into jail later that night. The other parties who were hospitalized, whose identities were not disclosed, are recovering.
Villalba has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.