Jurors deliberating in trial of La Quinta man charged with assaulting deputies
Jury deliberations began today in the trial of a La Quinta man suspected of attacking several people with rocks, including two sheriff's deputies, one of whom shot him.
Christopher Curci, 28, is charged with three counts each of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon likely to cause great bodily injury, two counts each of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and burglary, and one count of criminal threats, according to court records.
The charges stem from his alleged attack on Jan. 16, 2019, in a home in the 77300 block of Avenida Montezuma in La Quinta, where he's suspected of attacking two people with a rock then throwing it at deputies, one whom was struck.
Deputy District Attorney Melina Londos and Curci's defense attorney Ryan Markson finished delivering their closing arguments Wednesday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center in Indio and jurors began deliberating immediately after.
Markson told jurors his client didn't go to the house with the intent to kill anyone. He said the rock alleged to be a deadly weapon was about 5.5 inches, and that if Curci really intended to kill anyone he would've chosen a different weapon. Markson also suggested jurors should question how someone can kill another person with a rock.
According to the defense attorney, Curci went to the home without a weapon, picked a rock up from the front of the house, walked past a police car, and went into the home, but he didn't inflict great bodily injury on anyone. He asked jurors to consider the level of injuries the victims sustained and determine whether they equal great bodily injury.
At the end of his closing argument, he asked jurors to evaluate the evidence and find his client not guilty.
Londos rebutted the argument by telling jurors the sequence of events that day shows the defendant's intent.
The incident started when Curci allegedly broke a game console and television belonging to the victim, Greg, then later sent threatening messages to him.
According to Londos, Curci sent a text message that read, "For the record, I want you both gone. So say your final prayers. You're dead, all of you."
At that point, the victim reported the threat and messages, so deputies responded the home and were investigating when the defendant showed up again, according to Londos. Video from the front of the home shows Curci allegedly hitting one victim in the head with such force that he was knocked to the ground, and then throwing a rock into the house, where one of the deputies was struck, according to the prosecutor.
The victim who was knocked down had blood all over him and had to get staples in his head, while the deputy believed that she had been shot because of the force with which the rock was thrown, Londos said. There was enough evidence to prove the defendant inflicted great bodily injury and attempted murder.
Londos also showed jurors a video of Curci being interviewed after his arrest, saying he meant for the texts to be taken as threats and that he thought of grabbing an axe and using it to cut someone's head off, but ultimately decided that was going too far.
She concluded her closing argument by telling jurors the defendant weighed his options, made threats, and went to the house with intent, so with the evidence is enough to show that he's guilty.
During Curci's preliminary hearing, Riverside County sheriff's Investigator Jason Trudeau testified that deputies were sent to the home 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.
Curci remains in custody at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on $1 million bail.
