An 18-year-old alleged gang member accused of conspiring with nine others in a series of carjackings in Moreno Valley and Perris that led to several shootings pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a felony carjacking charge.
Daquorie Daron Diggs of Moreno Valley was arrested last week following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation that began in the fall. Along with carjacking, he’s charged with sentence-enhancing gun and gang allegations.
Diggs was arraigned before Superior Court Judge O.G. Magno, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Feb. 26 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The defendant is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.
One of his co-defendants, 18-year-old William Joseph Lee Payne of Moreno Valley, is also charged with armed carjacking and is slated to be arraigned Monday at the Riverside courthouse. He’s being held in lieu of $500,000 bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
Along with Diggs, 42-year-old Tailesha Lee King and 39-year-old Yolanda Robinson, both of Moreno Valley, were taken into custody last week. King was booked for allegedly destroying evidence, and Robinson was booked on suspicion of receiving stolen property.
The women were issued criminal citations ordering them to appear at the Riverside Hall of Justice on a future date and released on their own recognizance.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Ryan Marcuse, the men and women were allegedly part of a carjacking ring that targeted motorists in the Perris Valley corridor during November and December. All of the thefts involved brandishing firearms at motorists to force them to hand over their car keys, he said.
Four teenage boys, whose names were withheld because they are juveniles, and two other men — Deon Peeler, 20, of Perris, and Brian Roman, 22, of Moreno Valley — were taken into custody prior to Diggs and Payne.
Peeler and Roman were each arrested on suspicion of conspiracy and were released on their own recognizance over a month ago.
One of the teens is charged with attempted murder and is being held at Riverside Juvenile Hall.
Marcuse alleged that in two of the carjackings, victims came under fire, and one motorist was shot but survived.
Detectives relied on tips from the public and images captured via the Moreno Valley Citywide Camera System to identify some of the alleged conspirators, according to the sergeant.
The investigation is ongoing.
Neither Diggs nor Payne has documented prior felony convictions in adult court. Information on the others was not available.