Man Accused Of Stalking In Temecula Held On $1 Million Bail

TEMECULA, CA — A man charged with stalking and other crimes in Temecula pleaded not guilty, but he remains behind bars in lieu of $1 million bail, court records show.

Derek A. Cervantes, 36, of Ontario pleaded not guilty to felony stalking, as well as sentencing enhancements of violating a temporary restraining order, possessing a firearm in violation of a TRO, discharging a firearm in a negligent manner, carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle, violating a court order to prevent domestic violence, vandalism, and DUI.

Cervantes is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a felony settlement conference.

According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, at 5:50 p.m. June 18, deputies from the Southwest Sheriff's Station received a report of stalking in the area of Monte Drive in Temecula.

The suspect, Cervantes, was found a short time later after the sheriff's department received multiple calls of a person shooting a handgun from a vehicle in the 31700 block of Temecula Parkway, the department said.

Cervantes "possibly pointed the handgun at passing motorists," and was arrested, according to the department. "A handgun was in Cervantes’s vehicle."

A June 22 search warrant service at Cervantes’s residence in the 300 block of North Miramonte Avenue in Ontario turned up numerous firearms and ammunition, according to the sheriff's department.

Cervantes is being held at Southwest Detention Center.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Deputy Moises Zepeda-Serrano or Lead Investigator Joe Marquez at 951-696-3043.