Jury selection begins for trial of man accused of shooting at car full of kids

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) - Jury selection got underway today for the trial of a parolee accused of shooting a 14-year-old girl in the head and endangering four other children as they rode in a vehicle near downtown Indio.   

Vicente Manuel Reyes, 30, of Thousand Palms allegedly perpetrated the attack in 2018 and has been awaiting trial ever since.   

Reyes is charged with two counts of attempted murder, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations and an allegation of being a prior-strike felon.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Anthony Villalobos summoned multiple panels of prospective jurors to the Larson Justice Center in Indio on Wednesday for screening as to their availability and qualifications. Juror hardship hearings were scheduled in the afternoon, according to court minutes. It was unclear whether testimony might start before the end of the week.   

Reyes is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Benoit Detention Center.  

According to the Indio Police Department, on the night of May 20, 2018, the convicted felon allegedly fired on the vehicle as it traveled through the area of John Nobles Avenue and Monroe Street.

Reyes was on the street at the time. A possible motive for the alleged attack wasn't disclosed by the police department, which characterized it only a "senseless act of violence."  

Inside the vehicle were the adult driver, whose identity was not released, along with a 15-year-old girl, 13-year-old girl, 5-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy, whose identities also weren't provided.

A bullet from the handgun struck the oldest girl in the head, police said. The driver was nearly hit, too.

The girl was taken to a Coachella Valley trauma center for surgery and survived, though the long-term impact of the gunshot wound hasn't been detailed.

Reyes was identified as a suspect three days later and arrested without incident in the area of Edom Hill and Varner roads in Cathedral City.   

Court records showed that in 2012, the defendant and two other juveniles stabbed a boy in the parking lot of an Indio movie theater. Reyes was prosecuted as an adult and pleaded guilty to felony assault less than a year later.

He was sentenced to five years in state prison but was paroled in summer 2017, according to court documents.