Crime & Safety
Mustang Carjacking Suspect Will Stand Trial For October Crime: DA
A Perris man will stand trial for charges related to the October carjacking of a Mustang near Highways 79 and 74, according to the RivCo DA.
HOMELAND, CA — A 23-year-old probationer who allegedly joined a teenager in forcibly stealing a motorist's vehicle in Homeland, then taking it into San Bernardino County, must stand trial for carjacking and other offenses, a judge ruled Monday.
Andrew Daniel Lopez of Perris was arrested in October following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation.
At the end of a preliminary hearing Monday, Superior Court Judge Charles Koosed found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on the carjacking count, as well as possession of controlled substances and probation violations.
Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Jan. 3 at the Riverside Hall of Justice and left Lopez's bail set at $250,000. He's being held at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
There is an active arrest warrant for his co-defendant, Davyn Angel Martinez, whose whereabouts are unknown. Martinez is also charged with carjacking.
Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
According to the sheriff's department, at 3:20 a.m. Oct. 23, Lopez and Martinez allegedly confronted a motorist in the area of Highways 74 and 79.
Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Tinker said the victim was sitting in his 2018 Ford Mustang when one of the pair allegedly brandished a pistol and ordered him to get out, and he complied.
The duo sped away in the Mustang, and the uninjured motorist called 911.
Tinker said patrol deputies took his information and issued an alert to law enforcement agencies throughout the region to be on the lookout for the Mustang.
Rialto police officers spotted it roughly 10 hours later in the 600 block of Foothill Boulevard, where they signaled the person at the wheel -- Lopez -- to pull over, which he did, according to Tinker.
He said the defendant was taken into custody without incident, and he was "positively identified as one of the armed carjackers."
The vehicle was processed for evidence and returned to its owner, according to the sergeant.
Court records show that Lopez has a prior conviction for possession of a concealed weapon while operating a motor vehicle.
Information on Martinez was unavailable.
