Crime & Safety
Gang Members Admit Perpetrating Carjackings In Riverside County
Gang members who conspired in a series of carjackings in Moreno Valley and Perris that led to shootings pleaded guilty Friday to carjacking.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Three documented gang members who conspired in a series of carjackings in Moreno Valley and Perris that led to shootings pleaded guilty Friday to carjacking and other offenses.
Daquorie Daron Diggs and William Joseph Payne, both 19, along with Markeis Seven Slaughter, 21 -- all of Moreno Valley -- admitted the felony charge, as well as a sentence-enhancing allegation of perpetrating a crime for the benefit of a criminal street gang, under a plea agreement.
Diggs and Payne also separately pleaded guilty to sentence-enhancing gun use allegations.
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Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Hollenhorst scheduled a sentencing hearing for April 22 at the Riverside Hall of Justice. The prospective terms of imprisonment were not disclosed.
Another defendant, 21-year-old Deon De Anthony Peeler of Moreno Valley, pleaded guilty this week to carjacking and the sentence-enhancing gang activity allegation. He's slated to be sentenced March 17.
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Diggs and Peeler are being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. Payne and Slaughter are being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
All were arrested a year ago following a sheriff's investigation that began in the fall of 2020.
According to sheriff's Sgt. Ryan Marcuse, the men were part of a carjacking ring that targeted drivers in the Perris Valley corridor during November and December 2020. All the thefts involved brandishing firearms at motorists to force them to hand over their car keys, he said.
Four teenage boys, whose names were withheld because they are juveniles, were taken into custody prior to the men. One teen is charged with attempted murder and is being held at Riverside Juvenile Hall.
The status of the teens' cases was not available.
Marcuse alleged that in two of the carjackings, victims came under fire, and one driver was shot but survived.
Detectives relied on tips from the public and images captured via the Moreno Valley Citywide Camera System to identify some of the conspirators, according to the sergeant.
Diggs, Payne, Peeler and Slaughter have no documented prior felony convictions in adult court.
No information was available regarding the juveniles.
—City News Service
