Couple Lived At Temecula Man's Home When He Killed Them: Prosecutors

TEMECULA, CA — Prosecution testimony got underway Wednesday in the trial of a probationer accused of killing his one-time "sugar girl" and her boyfriend at his Temecula home earlier this year during an altercation over their ongoing occupancy of the property.

David Alan Floyd, 60, of Temecula is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, a special circumstance allegation of taking multiple lives, being a probationer in possession of a firearm, violating a domestic violence restraining order and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations for the deaths of Angel Ponce of Escondido and Danielle Ricker of Temecula, both 31.

A jury was seated, and the prosecution and defense delivered opening statements Tuesday, after which Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer directed jurors to return to the Southwest Justice Center Wednesday for witness testimony.

Floyd, who is acting as his own attorney, is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta. He was arrested at the end of February following a sheriff's department investigation into the killings, which occurred in late January.

According to a trial brief filed by the prosecution, Floyd had been at odds with Ricker since 2021, long after she had established residency at his single-story house at 34006 Galleron St., on the east end of Temecula.

In a March interview with sheriff's detectives, Floyd "stated that he had met Danielle 10 years before, and she had become his 'sugar girl,"' the brief stated.

"Danielle eventually got a boyfriend (Ponce), and they stayed at the defendant's house," according to the prosecution.

The situation created conflicts, including two separate instances in 2021 during which Floyd became physical with Ricker, prompting her to call 911. According to court papers, Floyd was ultimately charged with battery on a domestic partner, and Ricker obtained a domestic violence restraining order against him, granting her space within his residence, with the seemingly impractical arrangement that he avoid contact with her.

On Jan. 28, an argument erupted over keys to the property, and Floyd later recounted in jailhouse conversations — which were recorded — with his adult children that he told Ricker "to get the (expletive) out," according to the brief.

"The defendant then told them both to leave, and he and Angel got into a (verbal) altercation," the narrative said. "The defendant said he 'wasn't going to be a bitch' ... and knew that he could not win in a fistfight against Angel, so he preemptively shot him."

Floyd then turned the .22-caliber pistol on Ricker, who was standing nearby, gunning her down, prosecutors alleged.

In explaining the latter shooting, Floyd told his daughter, whose identity was not disclosed, "unfortunately, she was there," court papers allege.

The defendant allegedly loaded the bodies into his Porsche, parked inside the garage, and drove east toward the unincorporated community of Sage. The remains were dumped in the area of Sage and Voyager roads, according to the prosecution.

During the last week of February, Ponce's brother-in-law, Moe Olvera, and Ricker's mother, Diana Ricker, both contacted the sheriff's department to report their loved ones missing.

Around the same time, Floyd called his ex-wife, Amara Floyd, and confessed to the killings, according to the brief. He asked specifically to speak to his son and daughter to explain his actions, anticipating that he was about to be arrested, prosecutors wrote.

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

Detectives were able to locate Ponce's and Ricker's bodies on March 2 utilizing information that the defendant supplied to his family, along with traffic camera images that showed his vehicle heading into Sage, according to the brief.

If convicted, Floyd faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.