Desert Hot Springs murder suspect pleads not guilty
A reputed gang member accused of joining three accomplices in a fatal robbery more than three years ago in Desert Hot Springs pleaded not guilty today to murder and other offenses.
Shyrum Trequell Taylor, 24, was arrested Thursday in connection to the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Alycia Alexander in October 2017 during a botched drug transaction at Wardman Park. Investigators said they believe the
crime was gang-related.
Taylor was arraigned at the Banning Justice Center before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Alfonso Fernandez, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for June 8 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Taylor, who remains held on $1 million bail, is charged with murder and attempted robbery. Dimetrius Eugene Lugo, 21, and Barry Jermone Williams Jr., 32, face the same charges. Lugo previously pleaded not guilty, and Williams is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Wednesday.
The three men also face gang-related sentence enhancing allegations, along with a special circumstance allegation each of committing a murder during the commission of a robbery, which opens them up to possible death sentences if
prosecutors pursue them.
A fourth man, whose name was not released because he was 17 years old at the time of the alleged shooting, was also arrested, but additional details about his criminal proceedings were unclear.
The shooting was reported about 10:15 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2017, at the park located at the corner of Eighth Street and Cactus Drive, police said.
According to an arrest declaration prepared by Detective Christopher Tooth, the victim drove two others to the park to meet Lugo and Taylor for a planned drug transaction. The defendants had planned to conduct a robbery
rather than successfully complete the transaction, Tooth alleged.
While the group was speaking at the park, two other men allegedly approached Alexander's vehicle, and Alexander sped off. One of the suspects fired an unspecified quantity of gunshots at the fleeing vehicle, striking Alexander and killing her instantly, the declaration said.
Police did not specify who opened fire.
A person tried rushing Alexander to the hospital but they later stopped in the parking lot of the Wells Fargo on the 5200 block of Ramon Rd in Palm Springs and called police. First responders attempted life-saving measures but Alexander was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following a multi-year investigation, the suspects were arrested at various times over the past few months.
Lugo was arrested in Arizona on March 7.
Williams was arrested last Friday in Thermal. Taylor was taken into custody last Thursday in Beaumont.
None of the three men have any documented felony convictions in Riverside County.
The fourth suspect was arrested in Arizona in April. His criminal history was unclear.
