Trial begins for man accused of shooting two at Desert Hot Springs park
A then-19-year-old Desert Hot Springs resident opened fire on a group of skateboarders at a local park two years ago, wounding two men, a prosecutor said Thursday, but a defense attorney said the intended shooting victim was not an “innocent bystander.”
Efrain Emanuel Hyman, now 21, is charged with two counts of attempted murder in connection with the Nov. 12, 2015, shooting at Guy J. Tedesco Park in Desert Hot Springs.
Read: Tedesco Park shooting suspect arrested in New Jersey
Rahim Davis was shot in the head and suffers from impaired movement on the left side of his body to this day, according to the prosecution. The other man, Andrew Perkins, was shot in the shoulder and arm.
The two were sitting in bleachers near the skate park when Hyman, who was wrapped in a blanket, got into an argument with Davis, according to Deputy District Attorney Anne-Marie Lofthouse, who alleged that the defendant was angry that Davis wasn’t allowing Hyman’s “little homie” — an unidentified friend or family member — into the park.
She alleged that Hyman opened the blanket to reveal a firearm and began firing, hitting the two victims, then fired a couple more shots toward the crowd before making his getaway in a car.
Defense attorney Dennette McIntyre argued that the defendant and Davis had a history and that Davis had threatened Hyman with violence in the past. McIntyre alleged that Davis had pulled a gun on Hyman at a local library in the months prior to the park shooting.
Davis, who testified that he’s “miserable every day” due to seizures and constant pain since the shooting, denied threatening Hyman and said he didn’t really know him or what exactly prompted the gunfire.
Hyman was arrested in New Jersey six months after the shooting on a $1 million warrant issued by a Riverside County Superior Court judge.
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
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