Trial underway for La Quinta man charged with assaulting Sheriff’s deputies

A La Quinta man went to a house with the intent to kill someone and hit two people with a rock, which he then threw in the direction of two deputies, one of whom was hit in the leg, a prosecutor told jurors today, but the defendant's defense attorney said his client went to the house to beat up the victim, not kill him, and that there's a lot more to the story that will be revealed in the trial.

Christopher Curci, 28, is charged with three counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and one count each of burglary and criminal threats, according to court records.   

Deputy District Attorney Melina Londos began her opening statement Thursday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center in Indio by reading one of the last text messages that the defendant allegedly sent to the victim, Greg, on Jan. 16, 2019, prior to going to his house.

"For the record, I want you both gone. So say your final prayers. You're dead, all of you,'' Londos said.

Earlier that day, Curci allegedly threw a video game console at the victim's television, left the home and sent other similar text messages before heading over to Greg's house again, Londos told jurors. Due to the initial incident, deputies were at the home investigating when the defendant showed up again.  

Curci showed up at the home, grabbed a rock, passed a law enforcement vehicle and walked up to the front door, Londos said. The defendant walked into the home and a man who was staying on the property for the day followed him in an attempt to figure out what was happening, but as he got close, Curci allegedly hit him twice in the head with the rock.

Another man went to help the victim and the defendant allegedly smashed the back of his head with the rock as well, according to Londos. At that point, the deputies and Greg, who were in the back of the home ran into the house and Curci allegedly threw the rock into the home, which struck one of the deputies in the leg.   

Curci's defense attorney Ryan Markson then told jurors that his client didn't go to the house with the intent to kill anyone, he was going only with the intent to "kick Greg's ass."  

Markson said that though there's no doubt about what happened because it's all on video, jurors should ask questions like, "What would make someone so upset and have such tunnel vision that they would skip past the law enforcement vehicle that was parked in front of the house?"

He concluded his opening statements by telling jurors that there's a lot more to the story and that he's confident that they'll find him not guilty of attempted murder because his client only committed assault with a deadly weapon.

Prosecution testimony began in the trial immediately after the opening statements.

During Curci's preliminary hearing, Riverside County sheriff's Investigator Jason Trudeau testified that deputies were sent to a home in the 77300 block of Avenida Montezuma regarding the burglary and vandalism incident reported earlier that day.

In a recorded interview involving Trudeau and Curci played during the hearing, Curci appears to admit to breaking into the house earlier that day as "payback" for the homeowner's family allegedly previously burglarizing his home.

"I went over there to confront him, and maybe even beat him up,'' Curci says in the recording.

He contended in the interview with Trudeau that he only intended to hit one of the men, and that the other, identified only as an elderly man by Curci, was mistakenly caught in the crossfire.

Prosecutors allege Curci then began throwing rocks at the deputies, although in the recorded interview, Curci contended he was aiming for someone near the deputies.

"I had no intent on harming them,'' Curci said of the deputies.  

Curci allegedly ignored commands to stop throwing the rocks, and continued walking towards the deputies, which is when he was shot twice in the stomach area.

Curci remains in custody at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on $1 million bail.