Judge Rules on Pretrial Motions for DHS Man Accused in Mall Shooting
Trial proceedings began today for a Desert Hot Springs man accused in a car-to-car shooting in a Palm Desert mall parking lot almost exactly two years ago.
Daniel Joseph Santacroce was arrested in March 2023 following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation.
Santacroce is charged with four counts of attempted murder and one count each of shooting at an occupied vehicle, possession of a sawed-off shotgun and being an accessory to a felony.
During a pretrial hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta Friday, Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson ruled on motions related to evidence, scheduling, witnesses and other matters. Motions were slated to continue Monday, along with a review of prospective jurors' responses to questionnaires.
The defendant is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Benoit Detention Center in Indio.
According to sheriff's officials, early on the afternoon of Feb. 2, 2023, patrol deputies were sent to investigate reports of shots fired at The Shops in the 72-800 block of Highway 111.
"Based on the investigation, it is believed the incident was a car-to- car, gang-related shooting, with over 40 rounds fired,'' Mountz said in a statement. "Thankfully, no one was injured during the incident.''
Authorities said the Palm Desert Investigations Bureau and the Riverside County Gang Impact Team served a search warrant in March 2023 in the 66000 block of San Remo, where they allegedly found a short-barreled rifle, AR-15 parts and a high-capacity magazine.
Santacroce was arrested and booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, where he remains held on $1 million bail.
Also accused in the shooting, Adelanto residents Allen Curcio Adams Jr. and Alexander Brice Alvarado were charged with four felony counts of attempted murder and one felony count each of shooting at a vehicle and being a convicted felon and narcotic addict in possession of a firearm, according to court records. They were charged separately and are both scheduled to appear at a trial-readiness conference next Wednesday.
After Adams and Alvarado were identified as suspects in the shooting, investigators and the Riverside County Gang Impact Team served a search warrant in the 11100 block of Hyattsville Street in Adelanto on March 22, 2023, according to Mountz.
Following the search, Adams and Alvarado were arrested and later booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, where they were held without bail.
