A preliminary hearing date was pushed back Tuesday to Sept. 10 for two gang members accused of stealing a vehicle from a motorist at gunpoint in Thermal.
Jose Luis Martinez, 27, and David Luis Baker, 44, both of La Quinta, allegedly committed the carjacking last Dec. 9 in the 66000 block of Martinez Road in the unincorporated community.
Martinez and Baker are both charged with one count of carjacking and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a firearm during the commission of a felony. Baker is additionally charged with robbery.
During the preliminary hearing to be held at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, prosecutors will present evidence that a judge will weigh in determining whether a trial is warranted.
Both men remain in custody, Martinez on $250,000 bail and Baker on $1 million bail.
According to Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Mariano Matos III, the defendants were arrested during the execution of a search warrant in the 46000 block of Dune Palms Road in La Quinta.
Matos said the two are documented street gang members with felony convictions.
Baker’s convictions include assault with a gun and willful child cruelty, and Martinez’s include burglary and battery causing serious bodily injury.