Unlicensed driver who struck CHP officer pleads guilty to assault with deadly weapon charges.
RIVERSIDE, CA — An unlicensed driver who backed into a California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer during a traffic stop, injuring the lawman, pleaded guilty Monday to assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon and other charges.
Prudencio Xajil Alvarado, 57, admitted the assault count, along with DUI resulting in great bodily injury and being an unlicensed operator of a motor vehicle, as part of a plea directly to Riverside County Superior Court Judge Thomas Kelly, without input or objection from the District Attorney’s Office.
Kelly did not specify a potential term of imprisonment. He scheduled Alvarado’s sentencing for July 10 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The defendant remains free on $35,000 bail.
According to CHP Officer Javier Navarro, about 9:30 a.m. Oct. 18, 2022, the victim, identified only as a motor officer from the agency’s Riverside office, spotted the defendant’s Nissan Maxima on Indiana Avenue, just south of the Riverside (91) Freeway, and observed an unspecified infraction, prompting the lawman to conduct an enforcement stop.
Alvarado complied, pulling over to the curb, and the motor unit stopped a short distance behind him, Navarro said.
“As the officer began to dismount his motorcycle to contact the driver, Alvarado placed the Nissan into reverse and accelerated toward the officer,” the CHP spokesman said. “The Nissan collided into the motorcycle, disabling it and subsequently causing minor injuries to the officer.”
The lawman immediately arrested the defendant without further incident.
“Alvarado displayed objective signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication,” Navarro said.
The officer was treated for his injuries but not hospitalized. The defendant was not hurt.
Alvarado has no documented prior felony or misdemeanor convictions in Riverside County.
