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Four charged with snatching phones from store, fleeing from deputies

Grand theft and other charges were filed today against four men accused of stealing hundreds of dollars worth of goods from a Palm Desert cellphone store and then fleeing from sheriff’s deputies prior to surrendering in Cabazon.

Dominic Gabriel Claude, 23, of Colton, Damarie D. Knight, 19, of Rialto, Malachai Cash Moten, 19, of Colton, and Brandon Pier Moore, 20, of Riverside were arrested Tuesday following a 30-mile pursuit.

Knight, Moten and Moore are each charged with grand theft, as well as felony vandalism. Claude is charged with theft, felony evading and eluding law enforcement.

Claude, Moten and Moore are being held without bail at the Indio Jail and are slated to make their joint initial court appearance this afternoon at the nearby Larson Justice Center.

Knight posted a $10,000 bond and was released from the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta Wednesday. He’s slated to be arraigned in December.

According to Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Ruiz, the defendants went into the store in the 72-200 block of Highway 111 in Palm Desert about 1:45 p.m. Tuesday and allegedly grabbed multiple phones on display, then bolted from the outlet and jumped into a car driven by Claude, fleeing northbound.

Ruiz said store employees immediately called 911, providing a description of the getaway car, which deputies in the area spotted a short time later and pursued onto westbound Interstate 10.

Deputies stayed on their tail, and when Claude reached a Shell gas station in the 50800 block of Seminole Drive in Cabazon, he stopped the car, at which point all four defendants were taken into custody without further incident, Ruiz said.

According to court documents, both Moore and Moten have prior felony convictions, but the offenses were not specified.

KESQ 2019

Article Topic Follows: Crime

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