Arraignment for Cathedral City teen accused in carjacking and stabbing

A 19-year-old Cathedral City man alleged to have stabbed and carjacked a motorist who had just fatally struck the suspect’s teenage brother is expected in court today.
Jose Miguel Matus, who has been in at the county jail in Indio in lieu of $60,000 bail, is due to be arraigned today at Indio’s Larson Justice Center, according to jail records. The charges to which he will have to respond were not immediately announced.
A Dodge Ram truck driven by Matus’s alleged victim hit 17-year-old Daniel Matus in the 37400 block of southbound Cathedral Canyon Drive around 8:20 p.m. Tuesday, Cathedral City police Sgt. Julio Luna said.
The motorist stopped to help the boy, who was in the road for unknown reasons, and called 911, according to Luna.
“As he waited for police to arrive, the driver was assaulted by an unidentified male,” Luna said. “The suspect then took the Dodge truck and fled from the area.”
Police later found the truck in the 31500 block of El Pueblo Trail and arrested Jose Matus as the suspect in the stabbing and carjacking, Luna said.
The driver of the truck was stabbed once in the upper body and taken to Desert Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Luna said no criminal charges were anticipated against the motorist for striking the teen, who died at the scene. Alcohol did not appear to be a factor, Luna said.