Jury selection is expected to conclude later this week for the trial of a parolee accused of fatally stabbing a convenience store customer during a confrontation in Indio.
Vicente Angel Munoz, 32, of La Quinta is charged with murder, a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony and parole violations for the 2020 slaying of 29-year-old Maurice Brock of Indio.
Jury selection began Wednesday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, but Riverside County Superior Court Judge Charles Koosed gave prospective jurors Thursday and Friday off ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend.
The screening process resumed Tuesday, and it’s likely to wrap up by Thursday afternoon, followed by opening statements.
Munoz is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
According to an evidentiary brief attached to motions filed by the District Attorney’s Office, Munoz confronted Brock in the parking lot of the Circle K at 79-985 Highway 111 shortly before 1 a.m. on March 14, 2020.
The defendant’s behavior had been erratic that night, and there was never a clear explanation for why Brock was targeted. He was a regular nightly customer at the convenience store, while Munoz was a stranger, according to witnesses.
During the encounter, the parolee became physical with the victim, who tried to push him away, at which point the defendant pulled a knife and stabbed Brock, who began running away with Munoz on his heels, prosecutors alleged.
The defendant caught up with the victim and allegedly stabbed him again, then fled the location on foot, according to the prosecution.
Brock was taken to JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio, where he died a short time later.
Munoz returned to his family’s residence at 79-290 Camino Rosada, where he turned hostile with his brother and others, who called 911 saying “Vicente is waving a knife at the family,” court papers stated.
Sheriff’s deputies, who were already investigating the deadly knife assault, obtained a description of the assailant at the house and realized it matched the man who had allegedly perpetrated the attack on Brock.
They went to the La Quinta residence and arrested Munoz without incident.
Court records show the defendant has prior convictions for robbery, domestic violence, theft and vandalism.