A preliminary hearing is scheduled later this month for a felon accused of fatally punching a 31-year-old man during a street altercation that the victim was only observing.
Mike Mendez, 36, of Riverside, was arrested last week following a Riverside Police Department investigation into the death of George Sifontes of Rialto.
Mendez pleaded not guilty Monday to assault resulting in great bodily injury. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Sean Crandell scheduled a preliminary hearing for Nov. 28 at the Riverside Hall of Justice and ordered that the defendant be held in lieu of $100,000 bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
The hearing will determine if there’s sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.
According to police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback, the attack occurred at 2:30 a.m. Oct. 7 near the intersection of Lemon Street and University Avenue, within a couple blocks of the downtown civic center.
Railsback said Sifontes was observing a confrontation when Mendez allegedly blindsided him with a punch, causing the victim to collapse onto the pavement, where his head struck hard.
The assailant fled, and an ambulance was summoned to the location.
Railsback said Sifontes was taken to nearby Riverside Community Hospital, where he died from the head trauma 10 days later.
The reason for the street conflict, and the motive for Mendez allegedly striking the victim, were not explained.
Railsback said detectives spent the ensuing month trying to identify the assailant, ultimately gathering sufficient evidence to obtain an arrest warrant for Mendez.
He has prior convictions in another jurisdiction that weren’t listed in court records.