Man pleads guilty to armed burglary at Desert Hot Springs Store
A 22-year-old man who stole products from a Desert Hot Springs store while armed with a pistol pleaded guilty today to burglary and obstructing a peace officer and was immediately sentenced to two years in state prison.
Kevin Dionte Ezekial Davis admitted the felony and misdemeanor counts under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors dropped a robbery charge and a sentence-enhancing gun use allegation against Davis.
The plea bargain was announced at the outset of a preliminary hearing Thursday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Superior Court Judge Charles Stafford certified the terms of the agreement and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.
The burglary occurred on the morning of Nov. 20, 2023, at the Dollar General near the intersection of Fifth Street and Palm Drive, according to the Desert Hot Springs Police Department.
Patrol officers were summoned by a witness, who called 911 saying that two men -- one of them armed with a handgun -- had entered the store, grabbed merchandise and fled.
"(Police) were on scene within two minutes of the reported incident and began canvassing the area for the suspect,'' according to a DHSPD statement. "While checking the area, an officer observed a parked vehicle with two suspects hiding inside."
Davis tried to run when officers approached, but they quickly apprehended him and the other man with him, identified as 32-year-old Jiquake Green, seizing the stolen merchandise from inside Davis' car, police said.
Prosecutors ultimately decided not to file charges against Green, without disclosing why.
Davis had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County. Background information on Green was unavailable.
