Mental competency trial set for man killing RSO deputy

A mental competency trial will be held in November for a 44-year-old man accused of ambushing and killing a 30-year-old Riverside County sheriff's deputy responding to a domestic violence call, prosecutors confirmed today.   

Jesse Ceazar Navarro of Lake Elsinore is charged with murder of a peace officer, attempted murder of a peace officer, special circumstance allegations of killing a law enforcement official and lying in wait, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations, for the January 2023 death of Deputy Darnell Calhoun.   

The Riverside County District Attorney's Office is seeking capital punishment for Navarro, provided he's convicted.   

Based on psychiatric evaluations, his attorney petitioned the court for a mental competency trial, and Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson found there were sufficient grounds to proceed with one. The D.A.'s office verified on Monday that jury proceedings are slated to begin on Nov. 8 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.   

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

According to a sheriff's arrest warrant affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, Calhoun went to a residence in the 18500 block of Hilldale Lane, near Grand Avenue, about 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, after 911 dispatchers received a call indicating a domestic altercation at the location, without certainty because the caller abruptly hung up.   

Calhoun arrived alone in his patrol vehicle and "contacted several individuals in the driveway of the residence,'' according to the affidavit.   

"Navarro partially concealed himself behind an open door of his (pickup) truck, holding a handgun out of sight of Deputy Calhoun,'' the document stated. "Within 17 seconds of Deputy Calhoun arriving on scene, Navarro began shooting at him. Navarro fired multiple rounds at Deputy Calhoun, (who) fled on foot. Navarro then entered his truck, drove in the direction that Calhoun had fled and continued to fire at him from the truck."  

The affidavit revealed Calhoun fired back at the defendant, but "none of the rounds appeared to injure him.''   

The lawman was hit several times and collapsed in the street. He was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.  

A backup deputy engaged Navarro in a gunfight within a couple minutes of Calhoun's "deputy under fire" call, wounding the defendant. The responding deputy wasn't injured.  

Navarro has since fully recovered.   

Calhoun is survived by his widow, Vanessa, and young sons Russell, Troy and Malcolm.   

Last September, by unanimous consent of the state Senate, a segment of Interstate 15 between Central Avenue and North Main Street in Lake Elsinore was renamed the "Deputy Darnell Andrew Calhoun Memorial Highway."

Barely two weeks before Calhoun's death, Deputy Isaiah Albert Cordero, 32, of Jurupa Valley was gunned down after stopping a convicted felon for a traffic violation in Jurupa Valley. The man was killed two hours later during a gun battle with deputies attempting to arrest him after a lengthy pursuit that ended on southbound Interstate 15 in Norco.   

Cordero's had been the first deputy line-of-duty loss in Riverside County in 15 years.  

Another deputy, 27-year-old Brett Michael Harris, died while responding to an assistance call early on the morning of May 12, 2023. He was going through a San Jacinto intersection when he was involved in a collision, suffering catastrophic injuries.

The other driver, who suffered moderate injuries, was not charged in connection with the fatality.