Sentencing was pushed back Tuesday to Friday for a 27-year-old transient who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman in Palm Springs.
Jonathan Nava was originally accused of forcing his way into an office building and a park bathroom stall hours apart on Oct. 27, 2017, in an attempt to sexually assault two women.
He pleaded guilty last month to one count each of assault with intent to commit rape and burglary. Another count of assault with intent to commit rape, as well as a felony false imprisonment charge, were dismissed as part of the plea deal, according to John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
It was not clear which attack Nava admitted in his plea agreement.
According to Palm Springs police, Nava forced his way into an office building in the 1100 block of North Indian Canyon Drive just before 10 a.m., chasing after a woman who was able to flee and call police. He fled before officers arrived, but at that point, officers hadn’t concluded that the attack was sexual in nature, police said.
Just after noon that day, officers were called to Ruth Hardy Park on a report of a man trying to sexually assault a woman inside a bathroom stall.
The woman, who was in the stall to change clothes for work, was heard screaming by witnesses at the park. Nava allegedly forced his way into the stall, but fled after witnesses entered the bathroom, according to police.
A search of the area led to Nava’s arrest just after 1 p.m. at Via Chica and Via Altamira, just southwest of the park. Following his arrest, officers found that he matched the suspect description from the office building attack and believed he was trying to sexually assault that woman, as well.
Nava remains jailed at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning without bail.