Three convicted felons accused of gunning down a 43-year-old Perris man in a gang-related attack must stand trial for murder and other charges, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Lonzo Lee Ford, 20, of San Jacinto, Dameontae Wright Patterson, 19, of Hemet, and Jevante Terrell Stewart, 24, of Hemet were arrested in July following a nearly yearlong Riverside County sheriff’s investigation into the slaying of Curtis McDaniel.
At the end of a preliminary hearing Wednesday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Superior Court Judge Charles Koosed found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for each defendant on the first-degree murder count, as well as a special circumstance allegation of committing a crime for the benefit of a criminal street gang, with sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
Koosed scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Jan. 4 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
All three men are being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
According to sheriff’s investigators, McDaniel was in his home in the 1300 block of Raven Hollow Road on the night of Sept. 16, 2017, when the defendants allegedly confronted him, shooting him multiple times in a planned attack.
The trio immediately fled the property and could not be found by deputies, who arrived minutes later, investigators allege.
McDaniel was pronounced dead at the scene.
Over the ensuing 10 months, detectives developed leads that allegedly pointed to the defendants as the assailants, though no details were disclosed. Each man was arrested in different locations.
According to court records, Ford has prior convictions for gang activity, resisting arrest and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Patterson has prior convictions for making criminal threats and resisting arrest, while Stewart has priors for robbery and being an unlicensed operator of a motor vehicle.