Jurors weighing the fate of one of four men accused of gunning down a 78-year-old Winchester resident during a home invasion robbery concluded deliberations Thursday without a verdict, pushing the process into next week.
Clifford John Franken, 54, of Hemet is accused with Matthew Patrick Fromer, 52, of Menifee and Kevin Richard Hirsch, 47, of Menifee in the slaying of Robert Bettencourt in 2023.
They were all charged with first-degree murder, robbery, burglary and special-circumstance allegations of killing in the course of a robbery and killing in the commission of a burglary. The men’s trials began in early February in front of separate juries.
During Hirsch’s proceedings, he reached a plea agreement, admitting the murder count, special circumstance allegation for burglary and the burglary and robbery counts. The special circumstance allegation for robbery was dropped in exchange for the defendant’s admissions.
He’s being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail and is slated for sentencing on May 23.
The prosecution is still summoning witnesses in Fromer’s case. He’s being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center, where Franken is also being held without bail.
The prosecution and defense completed closing statements in his case Wednesday afternoon, after which Riverside County Superior Court Judge Stephen Gallon sent his jury behind closed doors to begin weighing evidence. The panel returned to the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta Thursday but did not reach a decision. Gallon directed them to resume deliberations Monday morning.
Joseph Michael Salvati, 34, of Hemet is charged identically to his cohorts. He’s representing himself and will be tried separately later this month. He’s being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.
According to a trial brief filed by the prosecution, Hirsch and Fromer were initially the only two alleged conspirators, discussing plans on how to commit a break-in at Bettencourt’s residence in the 28100 block of Whitaker Street after learning from someone who had worked around the double-wide trailer that the victim kept a large stash of rare coins and firearms.
Hirsch recorded the 40-minute conversation between he and Fromer on his Apple iPhone, then shared it in text form with Franken and Salvati, prosecutors alleged.
“During that recorded conversation, (they) discuss a plan to burglarize and murder the `old man,”’ the brief stated. “Hirsch agrees to `pop the old man.”’
The men gathered in the predawn hours of March 3, 2023, going to Bettencourt’s remote property in separate vehicles, according to the brief. They arrived shortly after 3 a.m., allegedly forcing their way into the residence and confronting the victim as he slept, court papers stated.
After subduing Bettencourt, Hirsch fatally shot the senior, prosecutors alleged.
The brief said the foursome spent almost two hours allegedly ransacking the residence, stealing the victim’s collection of rare coins, tools, guns, vehicle batteries and anything else they could load into the bed of a pickup. They separated afterward.
One of the victim’s friends became concerned when he couldn’t reach him, and went to the property three days later to see what happened. Finding the trailer in complete disarray, he called 911. Sheriff’s deputies discovered the victim’s remains “underneath several items of junk,” the brief stated.
Central Homicide Unit detectives were able to obtain security surveillance video from a nearby property, which captured all of the vehicles coming and going from the victim’s home. The investigators were then able to match the vehicles to other images recorded via license plate recognition cameras strategically placed at various locations in the Hemet Valley, according to court papers.
Sufficient evidence was amassed to obtain a search warrant for Hirsch’s room at a Hemet motel, where detectives seized “multiple cell phones” and a Smith & Wesson revolver, later determined to be the one used in the killing.
After connecting all of the alleged conspirators, additional warrants were served, culminating in further seizures of rare coins and tools identified as belonging to the victim, according to the brief. Hirsch’s phone and the case-breaking conversation that he’d allegedly recorded was also seized, prosecutors said.
After Hirsch was booked into custody, undercover deputies posing as inmates were placed in the same cell with him, leading to a conversation in which the defendant placed himself at the crime, along with his co-defendants, the brief said.
“He described the crime as a `huge payday’ and the equivalent of a `retirement bust,”’ according to the narrative. “Hirsch described the payout in the form of `guns, coins and money,’ all of which are different items found during the search of each defendant. … When asked if he `popped the old dude,’ Hirsch admitted he shot the victim.”
Court documents show Franken has a prior conviction for vehicle theft, while Fromer has a prior for driving under the influence of drugs, and Hirsch has two priors in another jurisdiction that weren’t listed.
Salvati has priors in Riverside County for carjacking and felony evading.