A Perris man accused of intentionally running over and killing a 43-year-old Riverside resident standing outside his home pleaded not guilty Friday to a murder charge.
Noe Perez Gonzalez, 37, was arrested last month following a Riverside Police Department investigation into the Oct. 26 death of Patrick Leway in the 2900 block of Cimarron Road.
Gonzalez was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gail O’Rane, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Dec. 17 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The defendant is being held in lieu of $5 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.
According to Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback, Leway was standing on the sidewalk in front of his residence when Gonzalez allegedly came barreling toward him in a 2020 Toyota pickup truck.
“The vehicle was traveling west on Cimarron … left the roadway and collided with the pedestrian,” Railsback said.
He alleged that the defendant sped away from the scene, leaving the victim lying in the roadway. Leway was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where he died a short time later.
Railsback said the investigation was initially handled as a hit-and-run resulting in death, without any other known circumstances. However, in the ensuing weeks, detectives acquired information pointing to an intentional act by the driver, the police spokesman said.
No other details were disclosed, including a possible motive.
Gonzalez was tracked to a house on Redlands Avenue and taken into custody without incident on Nov. 19.
According to court records, he has a prior misdemeanor conviction for being an unlicensed operator of a motor vehicle.