An Arizona man who allegedly fired shots at a motorist outside a Cabazon gas station must stand trial on an attempted murder charge, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Billy Isaiah Marshall, 33, of Phoenix was arrested last July 14 after the alleged attack in front of the 76 station in the 300 block of North Fern Street.
Following a preliminary hearing at the Banning Justice Center, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Johnson found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on the attempted murder count, as well as a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Johnson scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for July 9. Marshall is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit filed by sheriff’s investigators, Marshall tried to speak with the unidentified victim while the man was sitting in his car shortly before 2 a.m. The motorist had just filled up his vehicle and was making adjustments in the driver’s seat when Marshall knocked on the driver’s side window, according to the declaration.
The driver ignored the defendant, who knocked again and asked the man to roll down his window, but the victim pulled away without acknowledging him, according to investigators.
As he was leaving the station, the man saw Marshall remove a handgun from his sweat pants and fire several shots at the car, the affidavit alleges. The victim was not struck by the gunfire and drove a short distance away, onto Railroad Avenue, where he pulled over and called 911.
Deputies searched the area and found Marshall at a Dollar General store adjacent to the gas station, where he was taken into custody without a struggle.
He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.