Trial Begins For Man Suspected Of Shooting DHS Officer

Opening statements are expected today as the trial for a gang member suspected of shooting a Desert Hot Springs police officer on Memorial Day 2008 gets underway.

Francisco “Poncho” Salcido, 31, of Desert Hot Springs, is charged with attempted murder on a police officer, participating in criminal street gang activity, assault with a firearm and carrying a firearm in public. He faces life in prison if convicted.

Jury selection for the estimated five-day trial finished Monday afternoon.

The defendant’s cousin, Desert Hot Springs resident Alisha Marie Lopez, 32, and her boyfriend Ernie Mendoza Chavez, 21, both pleaded guilty to an aiding and abetting charge for housing Salcido for two days while he was being sought by police.

Lopez pleaded guilty in 2008 and was sentenced to 20 months in jail and three years probation. Chavez, who also pleaded guilty to being a gang member in entering into a plea deal in January of this year, received three years probation.

Salcido, who is being held at the Indio Jail in lieu of $1.5 million bail, allegedly shot at a Desert Hot Springs police officer about 3 p.m. on May 26, 2008, during a traffic stop at First Street and Cactus Drive.

When police stopped the BMW, Salcido jumped out of the passenger seat and the woman driving the car, Jessica Hernandez, sped off, according to police.

The suspect began walking away from the officer and, “without any provocation whatsoever, Salcido turned around with a handgun … and fired multiple rounds at the officer,” police Cmdr. Ed Smith alleged at the time.

The trio was arrested two days after the shooting, when police determined they had “missed a location” that needed to be checked, Desert Hot Springs police Detective Larry Essex testified during Salcido’s preliminary hearing.

The location was the home of Salcido’s cousin, according to Essex, who said that when Salcido was taken into custody at Lopez’ home, he said, “You guys got me … You know what I did … and (the officer) knows what he did.”

The detective testified that Salcido told police that on the day of the shooting, he got a ride from Hernandez. He maintained that when he exited the car, he kissed her and said thank you, then saw the officer exit from his patrol car with a gun and heard him rack a round into the chamber.

The police officer involved in the shooting testified that he thought 18- year-old Anthony Albert Paez, another gang member wanted for a shooting in Desert Hot Springs a few days earlier, was in the BMW.

Paez was later arrested on suspicion of murder and other charges for a subsequent officer-involved shooting in 2008 that led to the death of a fellow gang member.

Salcido’s attorney contended during the preliminary hearing that Salcido fired at the officer because he feared for his life.

Essex testified that when officers arrived at Lopez’s residence, her young son told police that he let “Poncho” in the home through a window and hid the weapon allegedly used to fire at the officer under his mother’s mattress.

Essex testified that the boy’s mother never indicated to police that she was being held hostage or did not feel free to leave the residence. He also said that when detectives questioned her boyfriend, Chavez originally tried to deny that he knew Salcido or about his recent criminal activity.

“He (Chavez) said he would not have told police if he had the chance,” Essex testified.