Woman wanted in bail shooting is mother of man charged with murder
Lisa Vargas, 53, who is wanted by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department has been identified as 36-year-old Fabian Herrera's mother. Palm Springs Police confirmed to News Channel 3 that Vargas was at scene of the crime. Authorities have previously said she helped Herrera, but it's unclear how.
Herrera pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges on Friday after allegedly shooting and killing 33-year-old David Spann during an attempted fugitive recovery, where he sought to take Spann into custody. The incident happened at the Indian Canyon Gardens condominium complex on April 23.
"Mr. Spann was wanted by a bail agency for violating terms of his bail. He was not wanted by the courts, he was not wanted by law enforcement and there was no warrant out for his arrest," said Lt. William Hutchinson with Palm Springs Police Department.
Lt. Hutchinson gave a detailed timeline of what happened leading up to the shooting:
1:47 a.m. Herrera, who is the bail agent in this case, called Palm Springs Police Department and informed us that he was going to Mr. Spann’s home to look for him and attempt to locate him.
2:11 a.m. We got a call from Spann himself saying that someone was trying to break into his home and our dispatchers could hear yelling in the background of that call.
2:13 a.m. The Ring alarm company for Spann’s residence called our dispatch center to report a panic alarm had been triggered at Mr. Spann’s residence.
2:15 a.m. One of the Palm Springs Police Department sergeants hears the call go out at Spann’s residence, realizes that there is somebody there trying to locate him. That sergeant calls Mr. Herrera to see if something is going on, but Mr. Herrera doesn’t answer.
2:17 a.m. Two minutes later Mr. Herrera calls the sergeant back and says that he’s in need of immediate assistance from our agency. Our officers were then dispatched at that time, almost simultaneously with the Ring alarm company call. They arrive moments later.
2:18 a.m. The bail agent tells the sergeant over the phone that Spann is armed with a knife and that he has Mr. Spann at gunpoint.
2:20 a.m. Our officers are already on scene. They announced that Spann is armed with a knife and they’ve deployed a taser. Within a span of anywhere from 14-20 seconds, our officer reports shots fired. That was reporting that the bail agent had fired a shot and that they were requesting medical aid about a minute later.
Palm Springs Police said there had been eight calls to Spann's home between March 25 and April 1, which included annoying phone calls, vandalism, and a violation of court order. Five of them resulted in Spann being arrested, but it's unclear if any of the incidents were related to why a bail agency was seeking to apprehend him. Spann's family also told News Channel 3 that he had been going through a rough time days before the shooting.
Meanwhile, if convicted Herrera could face 50 years to life in prison. The murder charge came with a sentencing enhancement alleging Herrera intentionally discharged a firearm and caused great bodily injury. Three additional counts were filed accusing Herrera of being a felon while in possession of a firearm, ammunition and body armor.
The criminal complaint also detailed two prior strikes against Herrera in the state of California. A third strike could allow a judge to increase the sentence, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's office.
