A convicted felon accused of fatally stabbing a 51-year-old man during an altercation at a Riverside park must stand trial for murder and other charges, a judge ruled Friday.
Terrence Anthony Hawkins, 38, was arrested in February after a 48-hour investigation into the death of Brian Byrd of Riverside.
At the end of a preliminary hearing, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Michael Kellogg found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for the murder count, as well as sentence-enhancing allegations of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony and committing a crime within five years of parole from state prison.
The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Jan. 13 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Hawkins is being held on $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
According to Riverside police officer Ryan Railsback, the attack happened about 1:25 p.m. last Feb. 19 at Shamel Park in the 3600 block of Arlington Avenue.
Railsback alleged that the two men got into an altercation and Hawkins thrust a knife into Byrd, then fled.
Paramedics arrived within a few minutes and attempted life-saving measures on Byrd, but he died at the scene.
Homicide detectives ultimately identified Hawkins as the alleged assailant, and he was taken into custody without a struggle two days later on Vine Street.
According to court records, the ex-con has prior convictions for domestic violence, making criminal threats, resisting arrest and being in possession of a controlled substance.