Daniel Brandon Gonzalez, 23, of Perris was convicted in September of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, two counts of armed robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a loaded gun, in addition to sentence- enhancing gun use allegations.

The Banning jury acquitted him of attempted murder in connection with the March 2024 attack.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz is scheduled to hand down the sentence Friday afternoon at the Banning Justice Center.

Gonzalez is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

His co-defendant, 24-year-old Ethan Michael Morris of Perris, pleaded guilty in 2024 to grand theft under a pretrial agreement negotiated with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors dropped two related charges against Morris. He was sentenced to six years in state prison.

According to Sgt. Chad Thompson of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the pair confronted several people, whose identities were not disclosed, shortly after 8 p.m. on March 15, 2024, at a business in the 500 block of West Fourth Street, near Park Avenue.

During the encounter, Gonzalez pulled a handgun and demanded money from the victims, then shot at them but missed, authorities said. No one was injured.

The defendants immediately fled the location.

Detectives spent the ensuing days developing leads that ultimately pointed to Gonzalez and Morris as the robbers. A search warrant was served within a week at Gonzalez’s property in the 300 block of West Third Street, where “items of evidentiary value were located, along with three firearms,” Thompson said.

The defendant was taken into custody without incident.

Morris had been arrested days earlier after he was questioned by detectives at the sheriff’s Perris station.

Court records show Gonzalez has prior convictions for domestic violence and assault, while Morris had a prior for assault resulting in great bodily injury.

The post Convicted Felon Due For Sentencing Friday In RivCo Armed Robbery appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Daniel Brandon Gonzalez, 23, of Perris was convicted in September of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, two counts of armed robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a loaded gun, in addition to sentence- enhancing gun-use allegations. The Banning jury acquitted him of attempted murder in connection with the March 2024 attack.

During a hearing at the Banning Justice Center Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz imposed the required sentence for most counts, though court records indicated that he suspended terms on several others, which would have added an additional 20 to 30 years behind bars, effectively turning it into life with parole.

Gonzalez’s co-defendant, 24-year-old Ethan Michael Morris of Perris, pleaded guilty in 2024 to grand theft under a pretrial agreement with the District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors dropped two related charges against Morris. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Chad Thompson, the pair confronted several people, whose identities were not disclosed, shortly after 8 p.m. on March 15, 2024, at a business in the 500 block of West Fourth Street, near Park Avenue.

During the encounter, Gonzalez pulled a handgun and demanded money from the victims, then shot at them but missed, authorities said. No one was injured.

The defendants immediately fled the location.

Detectives spent the ensuing days developing leads that ultimately pointed to Gonzalez and Morris as the robbers.

Morris was arrested a few days later after he was summoned to the sheriff’s Perris station for questioning.

A search warrant was served within a week at Gonzalez’s property in the 300 block of West Third Street, where “items of evidentiary value were located, along with three firearms,” Thompson said.

The defendant was arrested without incident.

Court records show Gonzalez had prior convictions for domestic violence and assault, while Morris had a prior for assault resulting in great bodily injury.

The post RivCo Convicted Armed Robbery Shooter Sentenced To 45+ Years In Prison appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Melvin Mario James Landry, 42, of San Jacinto allegedly killed Gilbert Wah in 2020.

A Banning jury deliberated two days in January before deadlocking, after which Riverside County Superior Court Judge Rene Navarro declared a mistrial.

The case was transferred a week ago from the Banning Justice Center to the Riverside Hall of Justice, where Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz began summoning panels of prospective jurors for screening as to their availability and qualifications.

The judge is expected to swear in a panel Monday afternoon, with opening statements possible Tuesday morning.

Landry, who is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail, is charged with murder and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

According to a trial brief filed by the prosecution, on the night of July 23, 2020, Wah, his wife, Octavia Wah, and Landry got together at the victim’s house at 801 S. Camino Los Banos to “drink alcohol and smoke marijuana.”

The defense said in its brief Landry was in the midst of a divorce from his wife, Sylvia Joshua, because “he was caught cheating” on her. He was also suffering depression from the recent death of his mother and was upset that his sister had moved out of the area.

As he, the victim and Octavia Wah drank and smoked long into the night, tensions escalated due to Gilbert Wah’s references to Landry as a “pussy” and “bitch” — demeaning terms used to describe the defendant’s relationship with his wife, according to the prosecution’s brief.

Shortly after 3 a.m. on July 24, Wah became aggressive, slapping Landry across the face, the brief stated.

The defendant did not hit back, but instead went to his Dodge Durango pickup parked in front of the house, grabbed a semiautomatic handgun, then returned to the house and confronted Wah, firing a single shot into his heart, prosecutors allege.

The victim died on the spot.

His wife struck Landry and attempted to stop him from leaving, but he got away from her in his pickup. She called 911, and patrol deputies converged on the location.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Thurm said as personnel were gearing up to begin a search, Landry “returned to the scene and surrendered.”

Court records show the defendant has a prior misdemeanor conviction in Riverside County for driving under the influence. He has a felony conviction in another jurisdiction, but the offense wasn’t listed.

Court papers indicated Wah, too, had a record, including battery on a peace officer in another state, as well as a fraud conviction locally.

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