Two men and a woman accused in the deaths of a San Jacinto resident and her male friend, who were shot in a drive-by attack, pleaded not guilty Friday to double murder charges.
Martel Patrick McBride and Kenneth Hahn Wilson, both 18, along with Ariel Irene Savoie, 19, were arrested Jan. 10 at their respective Hemet residences. Arraignment for a fourth defendant, 19-year-old Alexis Mary Garcia of Hemet, is set for Feb. 23.
They’re accused of killing 19-year-old Lauren Lopez and 22-year-old Patrick Powell of Hemet about noon on Jan. 3 at a San Jacinto intersection.
All four defendants are charged with two counts of murder. Wilson is additionally charged with a special circumstance allegation of taking multiple lives, as well as gun and great bodily injury allegations.
McBride, Savoie and Wilson were arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Johnson, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for March 9 at the Banning Justice Center.
McBride is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, while Wilson is being held in lieu of $3 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside. Garcia is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, and Savoie is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Walter Mendez, Lopez and Powell were on the Ramona Expressway, approaching Warren Road, when Powell’s hatchback was struck by gunfire.
The car came to a stop on the shoulder, prompting passers-by to call 911. Deputies and paramedics arrived moments later, but the victims died at Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley less than an hour later.
Sheriff’s officials did not disclose a possible motive or how the four defendants were implicated.
None of them have prior documented felony or misdemeanor convictions as adults.
–City News Service