Trio Ordered To Stand Trial In Killing Death Of Indio Woman

INDIO, CA — Three men accused of robbing and gunning down a 25-year-old Indio woman during a drug transaction must stand trial for first-degree murder and other charges, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Dimetrius Eugene Lugo, 24, Shyrum Trequell Taylor, 27, and Barry J. Williams Jr., 34, allegedly killed Alycia Alexander in October 2017.

Following a preliminary hearing that began on Jan. 18 and resumed and concluded on Wednesday at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer found there was sufficient evidence to bound the trio over for trial on the murder count, as well as attempted murder and a special circumstance allegation of perpetrating a killing during a robbery.

The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Feb. 21 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

All three defendants are being held in lieu of $1 million bail each — Lugo at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, Taylor at the Benoit Detention Center in Indio and Williams at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.

The alleged attack happened shortly after 10 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2017, at Wardman Park, near Eighth Street and Cactus Drive, in Desert Hot Springs.

According to an arrest warrant declaration prepared by Desert Hot Springs police Detective Christopher Tooth, Alexander drove two others to the park to meet Lugo and Taylor for a drug deal, but in reality, the defendants had planned in advance to carry out a robbery rather than complete the transaction.

While the victim and his friends were speaking with Lugo, two other men allegedly approached Alexander's vehicle, and she sped off.

One of the defendants pulled a handgun and fired multiple shots at the fleeing vehicle, striking Alexander and killing her instantly, court papers allege.

It was unclear who did the shooting.

No one was arrested immediately afterward. However, after a multi-year investigation, the defendants were arrested at different times in 2021.

None of the three have documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.