Suspect pleads not guilty to plan to shoot police officers

A man who allegedly planned to carry out a shooting spree in Desert Hot Springs as a way to lure police officers into an ambush pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of kidnapping, making criminal threats and possession of a firearm.

Oscar Rene Parra Rincon, 38, was arrested Friday after police received a tip from “an acquaintance” of the suspect, alleging he “had unlawfully obtained ammunition and was actively and imminently planning to hunt and ambush police officers,” said DHS police Detective Christopher Saucier.

Read: Man plots to hunt, ambush Desert Hot Springs police

The suspect’s alleged plan was to shoot civilians as a way of attracting responding officers, Saucier said.

Rincon is charged with kidnapping for allegedly forcing an unidentified woman to drive him to a store, where he purchased ammunition, and with making threats toward a Desert Hot Springs police officer, according to the criminal complaint.

Desert Hot Springs police and Riverside County sheriff’s deputies tracked Rincon to a residence in the 68000 block of Calle Azteca. He surrendered without incident after police surrounded the home, according to the detective.

Rincon, who’s being held in lieu of $750,000 bail, is scheduled to return to court Nov. 21 for a felony settlement conference.