A convicted drug dealer accused of fatally plowing his pickup into an Indio man walking his bicycle across the street and speeding away was ordered to stand trial on hit-and-run charges Friday.
Mark Christian Bravo, 29, of Indio was arrested after allegedly killing Anthony Duran, 51, at the intersection of Monroe Street and Avenue 42 on Feb. 4, 2021.
Prosecutors formally charged Bravo with one felony count of hit-and-run involving injury or death, and a sentence-enhancing allegation of committing the crime while on bail. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license.
Bravo appeared at the Larson Justice Center on Friday, where a Riverside County Superior Court Judge found there to be sufficient evidence for Bravo to stand trial on the charges.
He is currently free on $75,000 bail and is scheduled for a trial readiness conference on March 29.
The defendant allegedly struck Duran with his pickup while the victim was walking his bicycle across the street, according to Indio Police Department Public Information Officer Ben Guitron.
The pickup then sped away, Guitron said.
Duran was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bravo has a felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance for sale.
At the time of the fatal crash, Bravo was out on bail in an unresolved assault with a deadly weapon case.