A probationer accused of battering his father with a hammer and rock severing one of his ears and leaving him to die inside a Desert Hot Springs home that the defendant allegedly set ablaze was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on attempted murder and other felony charges, but a felony torture count was dismissed.
Miguel Angel Espino, 27, of Cathedral City was arrested on Aug. 8, 2018, a day after the alleged crimes.
Following a preliminary hearing at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Riverside County Superior Court Judge James S. Hawkins found prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for the defendant to proceed to trial on one count each of attempted murder, arson and aggravated mayhem, along with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using an accelerate to start the blaze.
Hawkins ruled prosecutors presented insufficient evidence to hold Espino to answer to the torture count.
The judge kept the defendant’s bail at $1 million and scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Feb. 18.
The fire was reported about 7 p.m. on Aug. 7, 2018, at a home in 15600 block of Palm Drive. Firefighters arrived to find a “badly injured” man who was hospitalized in critical condition, police said.
Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Sanja Stark said the victim, whose name was withheld, suffered a severed ear, multiple nearly severed fingers and facial injuries in the attack, along with burns stemming from the fire.
Cal Fire arson investigators determined the blaze was intentionally set after the victim was assaulted, according to police. Multiple weapons used in the attack, including a hammer, were found inside the burned home, police said.
During the defendant’s preliminary hearing, Desert Hot Springs police Officer Miguel Preciado read transcripts of several jail calls that he said Espino placed to his mother after he was arrested. In the calls, Espino admitted to the attack, but said it was in self-defense.
“He tried to kill me and I panicked,” Espino said in one call. “I don’t know why he wanted to kill me.”
Espino went on to claim his father tried to stab him with a knife before throwing a rock and hammer at him, according to the officer. Espino allegedly admitted to throwing the rock and hammer back at his dad, which he claimed accounted for his father’s injuries, according to Preciado.
“I didn’t do it on purpose, or with bad intentions mom. I did it to protect myself,” Espino purportedly said.
The transcripts read aloud during the hearing made no mention of the arson allegations.
Deputy Public Defender Alex Hallowell noted that his client claimed in the call that he acted in self-defense, and argued that the prosecution failed to produce a motive show he did it intentionally.
Espino was on probation at the time of his arrest in a drug paraphernalia misdemeanor case, court records show.
Espino also has five unresolved misdemeanor criminal cases in Riverside County for alleged possession of controlled substances, possession of drug paraphernalia and petty theft.
He has no documented felony convictions in Riverside County.