Man accused of stabbing Sheriff’s deputy in Palm Desert ordered to stand trial
A La Quinta man accused of stabbing a Riverside County sheriff's deputy in a leg during a scuffle in Palm Desert must stand trial on several felony counts, including attempted murder on a peace officer, a judge ruled today.
Christian Matthew Choi, 50, was arrested in March 2020 in the area of El Paseo and Lupine Lane following the altercation that left the deputy with a non-life-threatening stab wound.
Along with two counts of attempted murder on a peace officer, Choi was charged with robbery, false imprisonment, two criminal threats-related counts, two counts of resisting an executive officer, unlawful use of tear gas and assault with a non-firearm deadly weapon, along with several weapon and great bodily injury sentence-enhancing allegations. The unlawful use of tear gas and assault with a non-firearm deadly weapon charges were later dismissed.
He was held to answer on the remaining counts Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, with a post-preliminary hearing arraignment scheduled for Oct. 2.
The defendant is being held on $2 million bail at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, deputies were sent to the location about 1:15 p.m. March 30, 2020, looking for a man who was assaulting shoppers in the area of Highway 111 and Las Palmas Avenue.
According to the department, deputies spotted Choi, who matched the suspect description, and when they attempted to approach him, he allegedly began to fight with the deputies.
"The suspect armed himself with a knife and stabbed one of the deputies in the leg,'' according to a department statement.
Deputies unsuccessfully attempted to subdue the suspect using stun guns, according to the statement. Choi allegedly tried to stab the deputy again before they managed to get him into custody.
The deputy, whose name was withheld, was taken to a hospital and has since been released. Choi was taken to a hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries.
According to court papers, the two counts of attempted murder on a peace officer involve two separate deputies, although the sheriff's department has not provided information on the circumstances surrounding the defendant's interaction with the second deputy.
A knife was recovered at the scene and booked into evidence, according to the department.
Choi has no prior documented felony convictions in Riverside County, but he does have several unresolved misdemeanor cases comprising trespassing, vandalism and resisting arrest charges.
