A Hemet man accused of shooting his girlfriend and trying to shoot a police officer who attempted to detain him pleaded not guilty Friday to attempted murder charges.
Kevin Lorell Carter, 39, was arrested on New Year’s Day after the alleged attack in the 600 block of Florida Avenue, near Tahquitz Avenue.
Along with two attempted murder counts, Carter is charged with domestic abuse, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
He was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Johnson, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for March 2 at the Banning Justice Center.
Carter is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
According to Hemet police Lt. Jeff Davis, Carter allegedly shot the woman, whose name was not released, several times in the upper body during an argument on the street shortly before 5 a.m. on Jan. 1.
Patrol officers arrived within a couple of minutes and found the victim wounded, but the defendant’s whereabouts were initially unclear, Davis said.
A patrolman spotted Carter about a block away and tried to detain him, but he “pulled a firearm and shot at the officer,” the lieutenant alleged. The lawman did not return fire, according to Davis.
Carter then fled, trying to hide on Palm Avenue, where officers located him and took him into custody without further trouble, Davis said.
The gunshot victim was taken to a trauma center for treatment. She has since recovered.
Carter has no prior documented felony convictions in Riverside County.
–City News Service