Man accused of attacking roommate with a metal bat in custody

A man charged with attempted murder, torture and other felonies for allegedly beating his roommate with a metal baseball bat in Cathedral City more than two months ago was jailed today in lieu of $1.1
million bail after being brought back to Riverside County from the state of Washington.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Jason James Allen, 45, following the May 25 attack at a home in the 69000 block of Northhampton Avenue.

The victim, Jason Burnette, told police he met Allen at a local methadone clinic. Burnett was attacked while he was sleeping and was struck multiple times in the head and face. He was hospitalized with facial fractures, partial ear loss and a brain bleed, according to the arrest warrant declaration.

Cathedral City police found Burnette “covered in blood” just before 5 a.m. at a neighboring residence. He told responding officers that Allen told him “I got to kill you, I know I’m going to go to jail for a long
time,” the declaration states. Allen then allegedly took Burnette’s car and fled.

Police attempted to track down the suspect via his cell phone, which indicated he had been in Modesto within 24 hours of the crime, according to the declaration.

Prosecutors charged Allen in May with attempted murder, torture, carjacking and robbery, and a $1 million warrant was issued for his arrest. He was taken into custody on an unspecified date in Port Orchard, Washington, according to county jail records, and was booked into the Robert Presley
Detention Center in Riverside on Monday.

Burnette’s family set-up a Gofundme page to help with bills. The last update on the page mentions that Burnette was discharged from the hospital last month but “can’t even stand or walk… or even sit.. for more than a few minutes at a time due to his broken knees.”

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