A man and his nephew, who are accused of killing his wife in Temescal Valley more than two decades ago and leaving an innocent man to be convicted of the crime, must stand trial on first-degree murder charges, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Googie Rene Harris Sr., 64, of Jurupa Valley and Joaquin Latee Leal, 54, of Compton, allegedly killed Terry Cheek in 1998.
Following a preliminary hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for the duo on the murder count, as well as a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait.
The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for April 6.
Both defendants are being held in lieu of $1 million bail — Harris at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning and Leal at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
Harris’ son, Googie Rene Harris Jr., 40, of Palm Desert, pleaded guilty in 2019 to being an accessory after the fact and is slated to be sentenced on March 25. He’s free on his own recognizance.
Prosecutors allege Harris Sr. conspired with Leal to kill his wife in April 1998.
“A watch found near the scene where Cheek’s body was found was connected to Harris Jr. through the results of DNA testing,” according to a 2018 statement released by the District Attorney’s Office. “It is believed that the watch was knocked off of Harris Jr.’s arm when the victim’s body was left at the scene.”
District Attorney Mike Hestrin announced on Oct. 15, 2018, that Leal and Harris Sr. had been charged in the crime. The announcement came less than two weeks after the release of Horace Roberts, who had been serving his 19th year of a life sentence for the murder.
Roberts won his freedom based on a review of forensic evidence that exonerated the Temecula man, who was 60 years old at the time he left prison.
Hestrin credited attorneys at the San Diego-based California Innocence Project, which took on Roberts’ appeal in 2004, with prompting the agency’s Conviction Review Committee to take a comprehensive second look at the case.
“What happened to Horace Roberts is tragic,” Hestrin said at the time. “We as prosecutors always strive to be vigilant and follow the truth. Once I learned of the new DNA findings, I immediately directed that all charges be dismissed.”
The D.A. said the project’s examination of DNA evidence not introduced during Roberts’ trial proved pivotal in securing his release. The same evidence was used in the proceedings involving Harris Sr. and Leal.
According to prosecutors, Roberts and the victim worked together and had been intimately involved, although she was still married to Harris Sr.
Cheek was strangled and her remains found on a rock outcropping near Lake Corona in the Temescal Valley.
Sheriff’s investigators soon turned their attention to Roberts as a result of evidence gathered at the scene and interviews conducted in the days following her death.
Roberts’ supporters had long alleged that Harris Sr. and Leal framed him for the murder.