DA’s office addresses dismissal of charges in Palm Springs iron attack case

Prosecutors today addressed the dismissal of charges against a 38-year-old Palm Springs man who was accused of assaulting a resident with an iron during a home invasion.

Taylor Donald Hurst was released Wednesday morning after a judge at Indio's Larson Justice Center dismissed felony counts of robbery, assault with a non-firearm deadly weapon to cause great bodily injury and burglary, according to Thalia Hayden of the Riverside County District Attorney's office.

Case records indicated that several violence-and parole-related enhancements attached to each charge were also stricken.   

In response to the dismissal of charges, Hayden told City News Service on Thursday that Hurst "admitted a violation of his probation and was sentenced to three years on that violation case."  

Records on his corporal injury case indicated that violation of probation advisement of rights and waivers was filed on Wednesday.   

The defendant's release followed "over three years'' of service in the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio, according to Hayden.   

Hurst was arrested around 6:30 a.m. on May 19, 2022, when officers responded to a report of a disturbance between neighbors in the 700 block of San Lorenzo Road, according to the Palm Springs Police Department.   

A resident reported being struck in the face with an iron after someone broke into his home, police said. Authorities alleged that the suspect grabbed some unspecified items and fled the home.

Hurst, who was on probation at the time, had a prior felony conviction for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, court records show.