A New Jersey man accused of fatally stabbing a Murrieta resident during an altercation outside an apartment complex pleaded not guilty Thursday to first-degree murder.
Gekeith McDuffie, 37, of Jersey City, was arrested July 2 following an investigation by the Murrieta Police Department.
Along with murder, McDuffie is charged with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon — a knife — in the commission of a felony.
He was arraigned Thursday before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Judith Clark, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Aug. 17 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
McDuffie is being held on $1 million bail at the nearby Byrd Detention Center.
According to police Capt. Spencer Parker, at 10:30 p.m. July 2, patrol officers were alerted that a knife-wielding man was chasing another man during a fight outside the Waterstone Apartments at 24850 Hancock Ave.
Before officers arrived, the victim, identified in court documents only as “V.C.,” was stabbed, Parker said. The perpetrator was ultimately identified as McDuffie.
The captain said an unknown person, possibly a passer-by, loaded V.C. into his vehicle and drove him to the nearest hospital emergency room, dropping him there and then leaving.
Officers deployed a remote-controlled drone to scour the area where the attack occurred and soon identified the man described by 911 callers as the assailant, according to Parker.
He said the individual, McDuffie, was spotted near the north driveway for the apartments, and patrol units were directed to the location, culminating in his uneventful arrest.
V.C. was admitted to intensive care and lingered in a coma until dying over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
“Detectives continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the altercation and are seeking any cell phone, surveillance or dash camera footage that may have captured the incident or the movements of those involved before or after the stabbing,” Parker said.
The person who took the victim to the hospital has yet to be identified.
Anyone with information was asked to contact police at 951-970-8965.
McDuffie has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.