Palm Desert Hotel Beatings: 3 Ordered to Stand Trial

Three people who allegedly took part in a beatdown of two Palm Desert hotel employees must stand trial on assault charges, a judge has ruled, while a fourth co-defendant remains outstanding after skipping her latest court appearance.

Gregory Lamar Pate Jr., 25, Diane Portillo, 27, and Dalon Emil Decoud Jr., 26, are accused of attacking two JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa employees on June 27, 2017.

Portillo and another woman, Danei Deborah Davis, 25, are accused of holding a female employee down on the ground and taking turns punching and kicking her, while Decoud is accused of punching a male employee in the face.

The female employee suffered "pain and major swelling to her head,'' while the male employee suffered `"a broken orbital bone,'' according to an arrest warrant declaration.

Pate is accused of "inciting'' the two female defendants into beating the female employee. He faces a misdemeanor count of incitement to riot, in addition to a felony assault charge, while his co-defendants are only facing felony assault.

Decoud was arrested while allegedly trying to flee the scene on foot. Davis, Portillo and Pate were also taken into custody at the scene.

The defendants are currently scheduled to return to court Jan. 3 for a post-preliminary hearing arraignment.

Davis has twice skipped court hearings in this case, first for her August 2017 arraignment, and most recently for a felony settlement conference last month.

City News Service contributed to this report/Image via David Allen/Shutterstock