Both Sides Need More Time To Prepare Hughes Case

Attorneys on both sides said today they needed more time to prepare for a preliminary hearing for the onetime head of security for the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, who allegedly killed a tribal leader and two other people in 1981.

James “Jimmy” Hughes faces murder and conspiracy charges in the deaths of Ralph Arthur Boger, 42, Patricia Roberta Castro, 44, and Alfred Alvarez, 32, who was vice chairman of the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians Tribal Council.

They were found dead on July 1, 1981, at 35040 Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage.

Hughes also faces a special circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders. A decision on whether to seek capital punishment or life in prison without parole for the 53-year-old defendant will come after his preliminary hearing.

Hughes appeared briefly in court today, and a new felony settlement conference date of July 1 was set at the request of both Deputy Attorney General Mike Murphy and stand-in defense attorney, Dean Benjamini.

Both men said more time was needed to prepare for the defendant’s preliminary hearing, which will determine if he is held to answer to the charges.

Hughes, who is represented by Miami-based attorney Rene Sotorrio, was the head of security for the Cabazon Band at the time of the murders.

The alleged triggerman-turned-preacher is accused of conspiring with three other men to commit the murders to keep Alvarez from exposing alleged illegal activities of the tribe’s casino founder, John Philip Nichols.

In addition to Hughes and Nichols, court documents identify the alleged co-conspirators as Nichols’ son, John Paul Nichols, and Glen Heggstad.

The California Attorney General’s Office is handling the case because Hughes is a distant cousin of Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco.

Hughes is being held without bail at the Indio Jail.