Jury selection is slated to get underway Tuesday for the trial of a motorist accused of intentionally running over and killing a 46-year-old bicyclist on a Riverside street.
Sergio Reynaldo Gutierrez, 33, of Riverside allegedly killed Benedicto Solanga, also of Riverside, in July 2021.
Gutierrez is charged with murder and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon — his pickup — in the commission of a felony.
The case was assigned last to the courtroom of Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Hollenhorst at the Riverside Hall of Justice, where pretrial motions were heard concerning trial scheduling, witnesses, which photographs will be permitted to be introduced by the prosecution and instructions for jurors.
Hollenhorst ordered multiple panels of prospective jurors to the downtown Riverside courthouse Tuesday morning.
Gutierrez is being held in lieu of $1 million at the nearby Robert Presley Jail.
According to Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback, on the afternoon of July 29, 2021, the defendant was driving his Ford F-250 on Market Street, near the Pomona (60) Freeway underpass, when he encountered Solanga on his bicycle going in the opposite direction.
Railsback said that there was an unspecified “interaction” between the defendant and victim, possibly traffic-related, after which Solanga resumed riding his bike.
“(Gutierrez) made a U-turn and struck the victim, causing him to be seriously injured,” the police spokesman said, further alleging that the defendant fled.
Solanga was hospitalized, but he died three days later as a result of the impact, according to Railsback.
He said that detectives spent the ensuing three weeks attempting to identify the pickup driver and ultimately confirmed that it was allegedly Gutierrez.
He was taken into custody without incident on Aug. 17, 2021, along Sir Bedivere Drive.
Gutierrez has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.