Temecula Man Ordered To Stand Trial For Murder

TEMECULA, CA — A man accused of killing a 39-year-old Temecula resident in a confrontation stemming from romantic conflicts involving the defendant's friend will stand trial for first-degree murder and other charges, court records confirmed Tuesday.

Micah Chazz Harris, 22, of Temecula, allegedly gunned down Aaron Bowers in January.

Following a preliminary hearing Monday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Molloy found there was sufficient evidence to bound Harris over for trial on the murder count, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations. The court minutes, posted Tuesday morning, showed the judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Sept. 2 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.

Harris is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center.

His co-defendant, 21-year-old Jacob Tavion Lamar Godfrey of Temecula, pleaded guilty on Friday to assault with a deadly weapon in a separate hearing before Molloy, who sentenced him to a year in county jail, then suspended the sentence after giving Godfrey credit for time served.

The judge instead ordered him to complete two years' felony probation and pay victim restitution in an amount to be determined by the county Department of Probation.

An arrest warrant declaration filed by sheriff's investigators indicated the deadly encounter with Bowers evolved from a conversation between Harris and Godfrey in the predawn hours of Jan. 4, when they were at the home of Godfrey's sometime girlfriend, whose identity was not disclosed.

The affidavit said Godfrey had become aware the woman was sleeping with another man, also not identified, and the defendant wanted to "(expletive) him up" for winning her affections.

The woman, her new lover, Bowers and several other people left the residence for a casino, at which point Godfrey and Harris stepped into her garage and "formed a plan to hide when the group returned" and then physically attack the girlfriend's new lover, according to the declaration.

"While discussing these plans, Harris took a (semiautomatic) handgun out of his waistband and stated he could use the gun if came to it, because Bowers was very large, and they did not think they could fight him," the narrative said.

The girlfriend, her new beau, Bowers and several other people returned to the house shortly before 5 a.m., prompting Godfrey to accost the man "about his relationship (with his girlfriend)," culminating in the defendant pushing the man and then "putting him in a choke-hold," court papers stated.

Bowers attempted to intervene, "and Harris pointed the gun at him," the affidavit said.

"Bowers saw Harris with the gun and became angry, chasing Harris," the document continued. "Harris ran upstairs, turned at the end of the hall and pointed the gun at Bowers. When Bowers reached the top of the stairs, Harris shot him six times."

The confrontation downstairs immediately ended when the shots rang out. Harris then dialed 911, saying, "I just shot someone. The gun is right here in my hand. My name is Micah Harris," according to the declaration.

Sheriff's Sgt. Jarred Bishop said that, within minutes, patrol deputies "arrived on scene and detained Harris" without incident.

Bowers was located on the upstairs landing and pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

The other parties in the home were questioned but not arrested, including Godfrey. After further investigation, however, detectives arrested him three days later and requested that prosecutors add him to the criminal complaint against Harris.

Neither Harris nor Godfrey had documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.