A man who allegedly planned to carry out a shooting spree in Desert Hot Springs as a way to lure police officers into an ambush was held to answer Monday to a firearm possession charge, but a judge ruled that the defendant will not proceed to trial on charges of kidnapping and making criminal threats.
Oscar Rene Parra Rincon, 38, was arrested Nov. 3 after police received a tip from “an acquaintance” of the suspect, alleging he “had unlawfully obtained ammunition and was actively and imminently planning to hunt and ambush police officers,” said DHS police Detective Christopher Saucier.
The suspect’s alleged plan was to shoot civilians as a way of attracting responding officers, Saucier said.
Desert Hot Springs police and Riverside County sheriff’s deputies tracked Rincon to a residence in the 68000 block of Calle Azteca. He surrendered without incident after police surrounded the home and was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and other crimes, police said.
He was later charged with kidnapping for allegedly forcing an unidentified woman to drive him to a store, where he purchased ammunition, and with making threats toward a Desert Hot Springs police officer.
Those charges were dismissed at the conclusion of Monday’s preliminary hearing, though he was held to answer to the gun possession count. Rincon is prohibited from owning a firearm after pleading guilty in April to misdemeanor domestic violence, for which he received three years probation.
Rincon is due back in court Dec. 11 for a post-preliminary hearing arraignment.
–City News Service