RivCo Man Accused Of Killing Deputy Deemed Competent To Stand Trial: Report

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — It didn't take long for a Riverside County Superior Court jury to decide on Wednesday that a man accused of killing a sheriff's deputy in 2023 was mentally competent to stand trial.

Two hours after jurors began deliberating Wednesday at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley, District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Molly Smith announced that jurors rejected the defense’s contention that Navarro was unable to competently assist in his defense or understand the charges against him, The Press-Enterprise reported.

Jesse Ceazar Navarro, 45, of Lake Elsinore, was arrested after he was accused of ambushing and killing a 30-year-old Riverside sheriff's Deputy Darnell Calhoun while he was responding to a domestic violence call almost exactly three years ago.

Prosecutors alleged in mid-December that Navarro was feigning mental incapacity for his own benefit. His attorney, however, said Navarro suffered lasting damage from bullet fragments that remain lodged in his head after Calhoun’s backup deputy engaged him in a gunfight following a “deputy under fire” call, leaving him wounded.

"The defendant is trying to manipulate the justice system," Deputy District Attorney Marcus Garrett said at the outset of trial.

Garrett argued that Navarro conspired with loved ones to create the appearance of someone in need of psychiatric treatment. He cited a recorded jailhouse call in which Navarro told his wife, Yvette Navarro, “Everything is going according to our plan,” Garrett said.

Garrett also pointed to a brain scan conducted at UC Irvine Medical Center, after which Dr. Mark Tran concluded there were “no significant areas of decreased activity in the cerebrum.”

Navarro's council, Lori Myers, petitioned the court for a mental competency trial, also known as a Penal Code section 1369 trial, after tests by the prosecution and defense experts were completed. Dickerson last year found there were grounds to proceed.

According to a sheriff's arrest warrant affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, Calhoun went to a residence in the 18500 block of Hilldale Lane, near Grand Avenue, about 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, after 911 dispatchers received a call indicating a domestic altercation at the location.

Calhoun arrived alone in his patrol unit and "contacted several individuals in the driveway of the residence," according to the affidavit.

"Navarro partially concealed himself behind an open door of his (pickup) truck, holding a handgun out of sight of Deputy Calhoun," the document stated.

"Within 17 seconds of Deputy Calhoun arriving on scene, Navarro began shooting at him. Navarro fired multiple rounds at Deputy Calhoun, (who) fled on foot. Navarro then entered his truck, drove in the direction that Calhoun had fled and continued to fire at him from the truck."

The affidavit revealed Calhoun returned fire, but "none of the rounds appeared to injure" Navarro.

The deputy was hit several times and collapsed in the street. He was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Calhoun is survived by his widow, Vanessa, and young sons Russell, Troy and Malcolm.

City News Service contributed to this report.