Willie Eddie Salazar of Wildomar caused the death of 32-year-old Sahtarria Anderson of Menifee in 2022.

Along with the murder count, a Murrieta jury also found Salazar guilty of felony driving under the influence and DUI resulting in great bodily injury. Jurors went behind closed doors early Tuesday afternoon following closing arguments by the prosecution and defense at the Southwest Justice Center. The jury apparently reached verdicts before leaving for the day, but the unanimous findings were not formally recorded until Wednesday morning.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Johnnetta Anderson scheduled a sentencing hearing for April 3. Salazar, who is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, is facing more than 20 years in prison.

According to the California Highway Patrol, on the night of April 29, 2022, the defendant was driving his Honda Civic the wrong way — going westbound in the eastbound lanes of Domenigoni Parkway — when he approached a Chevrolet Malibu driven by Anderson’s friend, identified only as a 31-year-old Hemet man.

Anderson was in the right front passenger seat of the four-door sedan, which was near Patterson Avenue when the two vehicles reached the same point.

“The Honda and Chevrolet were involved in a head-on crash,” CHP Officer Jason Montez said at the time, adding that it was unclear exactly how fast each car was traveling.

Paramedics arrived minutes later and treated the defendant and two victims, all of whom were taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar.

Anderson died the following day. Her friend, who suffered major injuries, was hospitalized for an unspecified period but ultimately recovered.

Salazar, also seriously hurt, was hospitalized for more than a week before being booked into jail.

Court records show he pleaded guilty in February 2022 to misdemeanor DUI, receiving a month-long jail sentence and a 36-month term of probation, with a requirement that he attend classes on the dangers of drinking and driving.

It was unclear whether he enrolled in the program. Under California law, if a DUI offender admits or is convicted of driving while intoxicated, he or she can be charged with murder for causing a death directly tied to a subsequent DUI collision.

Court documents show Salazar additionally had a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence.

The post Winchester Man Convicted Of 2nd Degree Murder Years After Head On DUI Crash appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

“How can you do this, be a repeat offender, kill somebody and serve two and a half years of a nine-year sentence?” said Kellie Montalvo, referencing the offender’s time in custody after being sentenced. “It’s completely outrageous to us.”

Montalvo recently received a letter from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, reviewed by The Times, informing her that Neomi Velado, the now-28-year-old woman who killed her son Benjamin, is scheduled to be released Saturday.

The CDCR said in a statement that Velado’s earliest possible release date is the month of February. They said this date was determined based on credits for good conduct and for 124 days served in custody prior to entering CDCR.

“She gets to be released on Valentine’s Day, which is another stab in the gut,” Montalvo said.

Velado was texting her boyfriend when she ran into Benjamin Montalvo with her car on June 11, 2020, while he was biking in Corona. She had already been in four at-fault crashes, three of which involved her being distracted by her phone, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.

In June 2023, she was convicted of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and felony hit and run causing death.

During the July 2023 sentencing hearing, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Matthew C. Perantoni remarked on the “demonstrated callousness of leaving a boy in the street to die,” according to reporting from the Press Enterprise.

The judge also noted that she attempted to cover up her crime by fixing her windshield before heading into work the following day, and although she did turn herself in that night at the behest of her mother, she was then photographed partying with her boyfriend in Las Vegas.

Prosecutors said that she was drinking and smoking marijuana before the crash, but because of the delay before she turned herself in, there was no evidence to charge her with a DUI.

Velado is eligible for early release because of credits that she accumulated during her time in prison and the time she spent in custody before she was sentenced, according to the CDCR. Credits can be earned for things such as completing rehabilitative or educational programs, abiding by the rules or completing wildfire firefighting work.

Most nonviolent offenders can earn credits for up to 50% of their sentence, but Velado’s release after serving just under a third of her sentence is less common. The CDCR did not provide further details on how Velado had accumulated enough credits to qualify for a February early release date.

“Quite frankly, we don’t give a darn about her good merit credits,” said Montalvo. “Where are Benjamin’s credits? Where are his milestones? She took every milestone that he could have ever achieved when she killed him.”

Montalvo is hoping that there was an error made in calculating the credits and has appealed to the governor’s office for help.

“It’s our last, very thin thread of hope to have somebody take a look at this, because the numbers just did not add up for us,” she said.

Montalvo said she met with a representative from the governor’s legal affairs team in Sacramento on Wednesday who advised that although Gov. Gavin Newsom cannot overturn the prisoner’s early release, his office can look into whether the credits were calculated correctly. The governor’s office referred comments to CDCR.

Montalvo plans to remain in Sacramento on Thursday, when she will be speaking at a news conference to support a new bipartisan legislative package intended to strengthen DUI and safety laws. She has become an advocate for traffic safety and, alongside her husband, Eddie Montalvo, founded the Inland Empire chapter of the nonprofit organization Streets Are for Everyone.

One of the newly proposed laws, SB 907, is especially close to Montalvo’s heart because it would limit the early release of offenders such as Velado.

That law, proposed by State Sen. Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera), would add gross vehicular manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated to the list of violent felonies. In California, offenders convicted of a violent felony can only earn credits for up to 15% of their sentence length.

SB 907 also aims to close a loophole for repeat DUI offenders. It would require Watson warnings to be read in court to all offenders who are charged with a DUI and accept a plea deal for the charge of hit and run. This warning — which describes the dangers and consequences of driving under the influence — gives prosecutors the ability to charge offenders with second degree murder if they later kill someone while drunk.

This section of the law was inspired by 18-year-old Braun Levi, who was killed by a suspected drunk driver in Manhattan Beach in May 2025. That driver had previously been arrested on suspicion of DUI but later pleaded to a hit and run.

“Our son was killed by a repeat DUI offender that the system failed to stop,” his mother, Jennifer Levi, said in a statement on SB 907. “No family should ever have to experience that kind of loss and pain.”

In addition, Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D–Irvine) is pushing for AB 1830, a law that would require everyone convicted of a DUI to install a breathalyzer that prevents their car from turning on if the driver has consumed alcohol.

“The system has let us down and we don’t want that,” said Montalvo. “There are going to be more future victims, and if we don’t speak up and use our story for the greater good, then who’s going to do it?”

The post The reckless driver who killed her son is about to be released. This SoCal mom is furious appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Rayjai Watters, 23, of Riverside was arrested in December following a Riverside Police Department investigation into the slaying of Richard Castaneda.

Watters is due to appear before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gary Polk at the Riverside Hall of Justice Friday morning.

The defendant is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.

According to police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback, the alleged attack happened just before 7 a.m. on Nov. 28 in the 5900 block of Magnolia Avenue, near Jurupa Avenue, in an area known as the “Woods Streets.”

Railsback alleged there was an unspecified conflict which led to an “unprovoked and brutal attack” perpetrated by Watters against Castaneda, who was homeless.

The victim was severely beaten about the head with an undisclosed instrument, after which Watters allegedly fled the location, according to Railsback.

He said first responders arrived minutes later and discovered Castaneda unconscious with major trauma. The victim was taken to nearby Riverside Community Hospital, where he lingered in a coma until his death on Dec. 4.

Robbery-Homicide Unit detectives soon identified Watters as the alleged assailant and obtained a warrant for his arrest. He was taken into custody without incident on Dec. 8 along Iowa Avenue and transported to the downtown jail.

The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

The post RivCo Man Suspected Of Beating Transient To Death Slated For Arraignment appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Marvin Alberto Ulloa was arrested in January following a weeks-long Murrieta Police Department investigation.

At the end of a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Johnnetta Anderson found there was sufficient evidence to bound Ulloa over for trial on nine counts of lewd acts on a minor, two counts of forced oral copulation of a child under 10 years old and sentence-enhancing allegations of targeting more than one victim in a sex crime.

The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Jan. 16 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta. The defendant is being held in lieu of $11 million at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

According to the police department, investigators were contacted on Jan. 7 regarding possible molestation perpetrated by the defendant on a girl identified in court documents only as “C.F.”

The alleged acts occurred at Ulloa Family Daycare, operated out of a residence in the 27700 block of Hackberry Street, near Clinton Keith Road, police said.

Court papers alleged that the girl was targeted between July 2020 and July 2023.

“C.F. was particularly vulnerable,” according to the criminal complaint. “It is alleged (the defendant) took advantage of a position of trust and confidence to commit the crimes.”

Detectives spent several weeks investigating the matter before gathering sufficient details to obtain and serve an arrest warrant at Ulloa’s home on Jan. 28.

After his arrest, evidence surfaced regarding other acts of molestation involving an unidentified child in 2024, resulting in additional charges being filed in March, court documents showed.

There was no record of registration for the daycare with the California Department of Social Services.

The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

The post Murrieta Daycare Operator Accused Of Molesting Young Girls Ordered To Stand Trial appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

A Riverside jury deliberated nearly two days before finding Steven Daniel Carrillo, 24, of Riverside guilty of killing Derrion Thomas of Rialto in 2020.

Along with the murder count, jurors convicted Carrillo of attempted murder, special-circumstance allegations of killing for the benefit of a criminal street gang and perpetrating a hate crime, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

They acquitted him of one attempted murder charge.

Jurors started deliberations Wednesday morning, after the prosecution and defense delivered closing arguments Tuesday afternoon. The panel announced it had reached a verdict late Thursday afternoon.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jerry Yang scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 28 at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Carrillo, who is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail, is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The defendant is a documented member of Riverside’s oldest street gang, prevalent in the area along the University Avenue corridor, authorities said.

In late October 2020, Carrillo was staying with fellow gang members in a room at the Motel 6 near the intersection of Iowa and University avenues, according to briefs filed by the District Attorney’s Office and the defense.

Staying in a room nearby were Sharon Mayweather, Isaiah Smith and Thomas, all related. On Oct. 24, Mayweather was released from the downtown Riverside jail, where she had been held for unspecified reasons, and she became intoxicated at the motel, according to court papers.

“She was hanging around Mr. Carrillo’s (black Jaguar) in the parking lot, and he told her to get away from his vehicle,” according to the defense.

There was a hostile exchange before she returned to her room.

Two days later, on the night of Oct. 26, Thomas and Smith were preparing to drive in the latter’s Saturn sedan to pick up food, and Mayweather was trailing behind when she encountered Carrillo in his car, leading to another confrontation, during which she told Smith and Thomas the defendant had threatened her. They doubted her claims and “ushered” her into the car, the defense said.

Prosecutors said the defendant was incensed, possibly because he had been publicly challenged by a woman in front of three juvenile gang members.

Although his Jaguar had been pointed in the direction opposite to where the victims were going, he turned around and pursued them eastbound on University, according to the prosecution’s brief.

Court papers state the victims tried to avoid further contact, racing through traffic lights until they reached the left turn lane to go into the Food4Less grocery store parking lot at University and Chicago avenues. Carrillo pulled alongside and shouted profanity-laced challenges, at which point Thomas pulled a semiautomatic handgun and “fired up to 11 rounds at Mr. Carrillo,” the defense said.

The Jaguar’s driver’s side window was blown out, but Carrillo and the youths with him were not hit. Smith tried to pull his own pistol out of his front pocket, but the trigger caught on his pants, and he shot himself in the right thigh, according to court documents.

Carrillo pulled his own 9mm pistol and fired into the Saturn, striking Thomas twice, including a fatal wound to the chest, according to the prosecution. Smith tried to flee when the shots were fired but crashed into a traffic sign. He stumbled out of the car and hobbled away to get help.

Mayweather was not injured. Thomas stepped out of the car and collapsed.

Carrillo fled the scene.

Thomas was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Smith underwent surgery to his leg and fully recovered.

Relying on security surveillance video from the motel and businesses along University, Riverside police detectives were able to identify the perpetrator, and an arrest warrant was served on him without incident two weeks later at a residence in the 2300 block of Candlestick Way in Perris.

Investigators seized his journal, in which he “bragged about the shooting,” according to the prosecution’s brief, which said he referred to the victims as “snails” and wrote that “there is a sort of war” between groups.

“The defendant noted he was proud he was able to show the little homies how to gang bang,” the brief said.

The defense blamed Mayweather for provoking the altercation, additionally asserting Carrillo was not the one who initiated violence that night.

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SAN JACINTO, CA — A man accused of gunning down a 31-year-old San Jacinto woman and trying to kill her companion in a premeditated attack nearly seven years ago pleaded not guilty Friday to first-degree murder and other charges.

Daniel Antonio Cortez Acevedo, 27, of San Jacinto allegedly killed Anna Meza for undisclosed reasons in 2017.

Along with murder, Acevedo is charged with attempted murder, a special-circumstance allegation of lying in wait and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

The defendant was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Francisco Navarro, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for June 7 at the Banning Justice Center.

Acevedo is being held on $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Jesse Martinez said the identity of Meza’s alleged killer required a “lengthy investigation” by Central Homicide Unit detectives.

The victim was walking with a man identified in court documents only as “J.M.” in the 100 block of North Dillon Avenue, near Main Street, on the afternoon of Nov. 12, 2017, when Acevedo allegedly approached them and pulled a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol, opening fire, according to investigators and prosecutors.

Meza was shot to death in the street. J.M. was not wounded.

The assailant, then unknown, fled the scene.

Investigators initially had little information on the circumstances and asked for the public’s assistance, but few clues surfaced.

Martinez did not disclose what detectives uncovered that finally led them to Acevedo, or why he allegedly targeted the victims.

He was taken into custody without incident following a traffic stop in San Jacinto on April 12.

Court records show the defendant has a prior misdemeanor conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm.

The post RivCo Cold Case: Suspected Killer Answers Charges 6 Years Later appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.