Closing arguments are slated Thursday in the trial of two men accused of gunning down a woman and her boyfriend at a San Jacinto intersection during a drive-by attack stemming from a family quarrel.
Martel Patrick McBride and Kenneth Hahn Wilson, both 24 and of Hemet, are charged with first-degree murder, a special circumstance allegation of taking multiple lives and sentence enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations for the 2018 slayings of 19-year-old Lauren Lopez of San Jacinto and 22-year-old Patrick Powell of Hemet.
After more than three weeks of testimony, the prosecution and defense rested Tuesday, setting the stage for closing statements Thursday morning at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jason Armand gave jurors the day off Wednesday due to the need to address other court business.
Each man is being held at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning — McBride in lieu of $2 million bail, Wilson without bail.
Co-defendants Alexis Mary Garcia and Ariel Irene Savoie — both 25 and of Hemet — pleaded guilty last year to two counts of voluntary manslaughter. The women are scheduled to be sentenced later this month. They’re also being held at the Smith jail — Garcia without bail, and Savoie in lieu of $2 million bail.
According to a trial brief filed by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, the conflict leading to the attack originated with Savoie and Powell, who had been romantically involved until breaking off their relationship shortly after she gave birth to his only child.
On the morning of Jan. 3, 2018, the two met at her Hemet residence to discuss a loan he needed for car repairs. The talk about money turned heated, and Powell became physical with Savoie, snatching her mobile phone and driving away in his black 2016 Chevrolet Spark, according to the prosecution.
Savoie conveyed to her new boyfriend, Wilson, what had happened, as well as her friends, McBride and Garcia, who were dating. Prosecutors said Savoie was incensed over her phone being taken, and her friends fed her outrage, encouraging her to go after Powell.
They piled into Garcia’s Nissan Sentra and soon spotted the Chevy hatchback traveling the Ramona Expressway. However, Powell was in the front passenger seat, and Lopez, his new love interest and Savoie’s cousin, was in the driver’s seat, according to court documents.
A chase ensued, during which Garcia allegedly sped after the other car, going around multiple vehicles until all parties came to a stop at the four-way intersection of Ramona Expressway and Warren Road.
The brief said that Wilson was in possession of a Luger 9mm semiautomatic handgun, and when Garcia stopped her car alongside the Chevy, the defendant allegedly jumped out of the Nissan and fired multiple rounds through the driver’s side of Powell’s vehicle, as well as the rear window.
Garcia and Savoie later told sheriff’s investigators they were in shock, never intending for the victims to be shot. Wilson quickly returned to Garcia’s vehicle, climbing into the backseat with McBride, after which the defendants sped away, prosecutors allege.
The Chevy hatchback rolled into a ditch, and several motorists called 911 to report what they had witnessed. Powell had stumbled out of the car after taking several bullets to the back and chest. He died before the ambulance arrived. Lopez was shot in the head but survived until reaching Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley, where she died less than an hour later.
Based on security surveillance videotape obtained from area businesses and witnesses’ statements, detectives were able to piece together the chain of events, culminating in the defendants’ arrests over the ensuing weeks.
None of the them have prior documented felony or misdemeanor convictions.