The prosecution and defense rested Thursday, then delivered closing statements, in the trial of a felon accused with another man of perpetrating a robbery in Perris during which shots were fired at several people.
Daniel Brandon Gonzalez, 22, of Perris was arrested in March 2024 following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.
Gonzalez is charged with two counts of armed robbery and one count each of attempted murder, firearm assault, being a felon in possession of a loaded gun, parole violations and sentence-enhancing gun use allegations.
After only two days of testimony, the prosecution and defense called their final witnesses, then completed closing arguments, Thursday at the Banning Justice Center. Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz directed the jury to return Friday morning to begin deliberations.
Last year, Gonzalez’s co-defendant, 23-year-old Ethan Michael Morris of Perris, pleaded guilty to grand theft under an agreement negotiated with the District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors dropped two related charges against Morris. He was sentenced to six years in state prison.
Gonzalez is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Chad Thompson, the pair allegedly confronted several people, whose identities were not released, shortly after 8 p.m. on March 15, 2024, at a business in the 500 block of West Fourth Street, near Park Avenue.
During the encounter, Gonzalez allegedly pulled a handgun and demanded money from the victims, then shot at them but missed, authorities said.
No one was injured.
The defendants allegedly fled the location.
Detectives spent the ensuing days developing leads that ultimately pointed to Gonzalez and Morris as the alleged robbers.
A search warrant was served within a week at Gonzalez’s property in the 300 block of West Third Street, where “items of evidentiary value were located, along with three firearms,” Thompson said.
The defendant was taken into custody without incident.
Morris was arrested days earlier after he was questioned by detectives at the sheriff’s Perris station.
Court records show Gonzalez has prior convictions for domestic violence and assault, while Morris had a prior for assault resulting in great bodily injury.