Lake Elsinore Shooting Suspect Pleads 'Not Guilty' To 1st Degree Murder Charges

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A man accused of gunning down a 34-year-old Lake Elsinore resident during a confrontation on the east end of the city pleaded not guilty Friday to first-degree murder and other offenses.

Ian Norwood Wentz, 47, of Lake Elsinore was arrested last month after he surrendered to deputies at the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's Lake Elsinore station.

Along with murder, Wentz is charged with sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

He was arraigned Friday before Superior Court Judge Judith Clark, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Dec. 11 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.

Wentz is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center.

According to sheriff's Sgt. Alberto Loureiro, shortly before 9 p.m. on Nov. 8, the defendant was involved in an unspecified dispute with Garrett Pickering in the 2000 block of East Lakeshore Drive, near Elm Street.

During the confrontation, Wentz allegedly pulled a handgun and shot Pickering, then fled the scene, Loureiro said.

Witnesses called 911, and patrol deputies and paramedics reached the location minutes later, at which point the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Wentz was soon identified as the alleged shooter, but before a search was initiated, he surrendered without incident at the sheriff's station on Limited Avenue.

There was no word on whether the two men were acquainted or strangers.

Wentz has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.