Trial proceedings begin for parolee accused of murder
Pretrial motions concluded today ahead of jury selection for the trial of an ex-con accused of shooting his girlfriend and leaving her body in a car that was abandoned on a Perris street.
Martin Jason Estrada, 43, of Desert Hot Springs was arrested in February 2016 following a Riverside County sheriff’s investigation into the slaying three months earlier of 45-year-old Rachel Davis of Banning.
Estrada is charged with murder, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and sentence-enhancing allegations of causing great bodily injury with a gun and committing a felony within five years of being released from prison.
Superior Court Judge Jorge Hernandez ruled on several motions submitted by the prosecution and defense and scheduled jury selection to begin Wednesday at the Banning Justice Center.
Davis’ body was found in a car parked along the shoulder of the 1300 block of Metz Road on Nov. 6, 2016. She had been shot in the head.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Wally Clear, detectives soon developed leads pointing to Estrada as the alleged perpetrator, though further details regarding the circumstances behind the killing were not disclosed.
The defendant, who had several arrest warrants pending in unrelated cases, could not be found for several months.
As the investigation progressed, detectives learned that the ex-con was staying in the Coachella Valley, eventually narrowing down his location to a residence on Prospect Street in Desert Hot Springs, Clear said.
Deputies served a warrant at the house and took Estrada into custody without a struggle.
According to court records, the defendant is a three-strike felon, but his prior offenses were not specified.
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