The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office says a caller reported a man trying to break into their home in Lake Mathews on the 16000 block of Hidden Peak Lane.

The homeowner told dispatchers that they were armed with a firearm. The suspect, officials said, eventually forced his way inside and was shot.

Deputies arrived at the scene around 11 p.m. where they found the suspect suffering from his wounds. Paramedics responded and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Homicide detectives responded to the scene, and the homeowner was transported to the Lake Mathews Sheriff’s Station for “further investigation.”

Neither the suspect or the homeowner have been identified.

The investigation remains ongoing and is currently described as a homicide investigation, although the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office will ultimately decide if those charges are pursued.

Anyone with information related to the shooting is urged to contact the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.

The post RivCo Homeowner Reports Shooting And Killing Intruder 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.

The post Jury to be Seated for Retrial of Man Accused of Killing Friend After Slap appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC) Diversity Committee will host a Women’s Self-Defense Workshop at 1 p.m. Monday, March 9, at its Menifee Valley Campus.

The annual women’s self-defense workshop is sponsored by the MSJC Diversity Committee, in collaboration with the Riverside Rape Crisis Center, to help empower women with self-defense strategies and techniques to defend themselves if necessary.

The free event is for women only and is open to MSJC students, faculty and the public. Participants should wear comfortable loose clothing, but no jewelry. Cold water will be provided.

It’ll last two hours in Room 1011 on the Menifee Valley Campus, 28237 La Piedra Road, Menifee.

For more information, contact faculty member Dr. Vera Stamenkovic at vstamenkovic@msjc.edu.

Mt. San Jacinto College serves about 27,000 students in a district covering 1,700 square miles from the San Gorgonio Pass to Temecula, with campuses in San Jacinto, Menifee, Banning and Temecula.

In May 2019, Mt. San Jacinto College awarded a record-breaking 3,314 degrees and certificates to 1,707 graduates.

Have a wonderful day and please follow MSJC on social media – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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