Senior's Killing In Winchester: 2nd Murder Conviction Handed Down

WINCHESTER, CA — One of the men involved in gunning down a 78-year-old Winchester resident during a home invasion robbery was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder and other charges.

A Murrieta jury returned with unanimous verdicts Tuesday against Clifford John Franken, 54, of Hemet, finding him guilty of the murder count, as well as robbery, burglary and special circumstance allegations of killing in the course of a robbery and killing in the commission of a burglary.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Stephen Gallon set a sentencing hearing for May 30 at the Southwest Justice Center.

Franken is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center.

His jury went behind closed doors Wednesday afternoon and deliberated all day Thursday and Monday, announcing they had reached unanimous findings just before the lunch hour Tuesday.

Franken and his three co-defendants were granted separate trials for the slaying of Robert Bettencourt in 2023.

During proceedings last month for 47-year-old Kevin Richard Hirsch of Menifee, he reached a plea deal with the District Attorney's Office, admitting murder, the special circumstance allegation for burglary, and the burglary and robbery counts. The special circumstance allegation for robbery was dropped in exchange for Hirsch's other admissions.

He's being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail and is slated for sentencing on May 23.

Matthew Patrick Fromer, 52, of Menifee is also on trial, and the prosecution was still summoning witnesses in his case Tuesday. He's charged identically to Franken, as is Joseph Michael Salvati, 34, of Hemet, whose trial is scheduled to start at the end of the month.

Fromer is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center, while Salvati is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.

According to a trial brief filed by the prosecution, Hirsch and Fromer were initially the only two alleged conspirators, discussing plans on how to commit a break-in at Bettencourt's residence in the 28100 block of Whitaker Street after learning from someone who had worked around the double-wide trailer that the victim kept a large stash of rare coins and firearms.

Hirsch recorded the 40-minute conversation between he and Fromer on his Apple iPhone, then shared it in text form with Franken and Salvati, prosecutors alleged.

"During that recorded conversation, (they) discuss a plan to burglarize and murder the 'old man,"' the brief stated. "Hirsch agrees to 'pop the old man."'

The men gathered in the predawn hours of March 3, 2023, going to Bettencourt's remote property in separate vehicles. They arrived shortly after 3 a.m., allegedly forcing their way into the residence and confronting the victim as he slept, court papers stated.

After subduing Bettencourt, Hirsch fatally shot the senior, prosecutors said.

The brief said the foursome spent almost two hours ransacking the residence, stealing the victim's collection of rare coins, along with tools, guns and anything else they could load into the bed of a pickup. They separated afterward.

One of the victim's friends became concerned when he couldn't reach him, and went to the property three days later to see what happened. Finding the trailer in complete disarray, he called for deputies, who discovered the victim's remains "underneath several items of junk," the brief stated.

Central Homicide Unit detectives were able to obtain security surveillance video from a nearby property, which captured all of the vehicles coming and going from the victim's home. The investigators were then able to match the vehicles to other images recorded via license plate recognition cameras strategically placed at various locations in the Hemet Valley, according to court papers.

Sufficient evidence was amassed to obtain a search warrant for Hirsch's room at a Hemet motel, where detectives seized "multiple cell phones" and a Smith & Wesson revolver, later determined to be the one used in the killing.

After connecting all of the alleged conspirators, additional warrants were served, culminating in further seizures of rare coins and tools identified as belonging to the victim, according to the brief.

Hirsch's phone and the case-breaking conversation that he'd recorded was also seized, prosecutors said.

After Hirsch was booked into custody, undercover deputies posing as inmates were placed in the same cell with him, leading to a conversation in which the defendant placed himself at the crime, along with his co-defendants, the brief said.

"He described the crime as a 'huge payday' and the equivalent of a 'retirement bust,"' according to the narrative. "Hirsch described the payout in the form of 'guns, coins and money,' all of which are different items found during the search of each defendant ... When asked if he 'popped the old dude,' Hirsch admitted he shot the victim."

Franken has a prior conviction for vehicle theft, while Fromer has a prior for driving under the influence of drugs, and Hirsch has two priors in another jurisdiction that weren't listed in court documents.

Salvati has priors for carjacking and felony evading.