Banning shooting suspect pleads not guilty in deadly rampage
A preliminary hearing has been set for James Paul Diaz, Jr., the man suspected of killing two people and injuring others during a rampage in Banning on September 26 of last year.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges on October 30 at his initial court appearance.
Diaz is facing two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of child endangerment and one count of misdemeanor vandalism.
Video: watch news conference following deadly shootings in September
According to the Press Enterprise, Diaz entered his plea at the Banning Justice Center in front of his family and friends, while friends and family of the victims sat on the opposite side of the aisle.
Diaz Jr.’s first court appearance was delayed because he was not medically cleared to be there. Many were wondering about Diaz’s condition because he couldn’t be cleared.
He did appear a day later but the judge postponed Diaz’s arraignment until October 30th.
Monica Diaz, who isn’t related to the suspect but said she’s a close family friend, said the James Diaz she knew would never do something like this.
“He was such a wonderful guy, he was so sweet, so kind, always willing to lend a hand, very hard working, helpful, fireman, ex fireman,” Diaz said.
But, the family members of victims from Saturday’s shootings may not see him in the same light.
As soon as Diaz walked into the court room for the first time, all of the victims families that were there burst into tears. The emotion was palpable in that room as families seek justice and answers.
But it could be a long time before they get those answers. And the District Attorney’s office told KESQ and CBS Local 2 there’s still a long road ahead.
“It’s potentially a capitol case, a death penalty case, and those take quite some time to get through the system. We believe we filed the right charges at the correct defendant based on our investigation and we’ll proceed forward and get justice for the victims,” said John Hall, spokesperson for the Districts Attorney’s Office.
This random act of violence shocked the town of Banning.
Officials said there’s really no way to prepare for something like this.
“There’s things that happen that you can’t prevent and you just have to be as aware of your surroundings as you can and don’t be complacent that there are people in this world who do bad things,” Hall said.
As the case makes its way through the court the town of Banning tries to get back to normal.
But it will take a long time for the victim’s families.
A number of family members came to court Thursday, they all declined to speak on camera.
