Testimony begins in trial of Desert Hot Springs man accused of mall shooting

Prosecution testimony began Wednesday in the trial of a Desert Hot Springs man accused of shooting more than three dozen bullets at four young men standing outside a Palm Desert mall, causing damage but no injuries.   

Daniel Joseph Santacroce was arrested in 2023 following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation into the attack at The Shops in the 72-800 block of Highway 111.

Santacroce is charged with four counts of attempted murder and one count each of shooting at an occupied vehicle, possession of a short-barreled firearm and being an accessory to a felony.

On Tuesday, a jury was seated to hear the matter at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, where the prosecution and defense also delivered opening statements. Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson directed the panel to return Wednesday, at which point the prosecution began presenting evidence. Proceedings were slated to resume Thursday morning.   

The defendant is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center. Santacroce's co-defendants, Allen Curcio Adams Jr. and Alexander Brice Alvarado, both of Adelanto, were charged separately, and both pleaded guilty in October to attempted murder. Each man was sentenced to 16 years in state prison.

According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney's Office, on the afternoon of Feb. 2, 2023, the defendants were in the mall parking lot with several friends, whose identities were not disclosed, when they encountered members of the West Drive Locos gang in a 2012 Dodge Caravan. Adams was affiliated with the rival 12th Street Crips, and the parties in the Caravan zeroed in on him, ``possibly throwing up gang signs,'' the brief said.   

The occupants of the Caravan parked next to a JC Penney's and went into the mall, purchasing food and then returning to the vehicle. Prosecutors alleged Santacroce was armed with a .40-caliber ``fully automatic'' Glock pistol that had been modified with a short rifle barrel and magazine that held 40 rounds.  

Though not a gang member, Santacroce allegedly decided to join his friends in confronting the occupants of the Caravan, according to court papers. Adams, Alvarado, Santacroce and another party, whose name was not released, got into a 2016 Lincoln MKZ and drove to where the Caravan was parked. When they spotted the four young men -- identified only by the initials ``A.R.,'' ``M.R.,'' ``P.G.'' and ``G.R.'' -- returning to the Caravan, either Adams or Alvarado yelled at them, followed by Santacroce allegedly opening fire with the Glock, prosecutors said.

The brief said more than 30 rounds were discharged from the gun, damaging the Caravan, another car in the line of fire and the exterior wall of the store. No one was hit.

Prosecutors alleged that as the Lincoln sped out of the parking area, one of the victims who had been targeted opened fire with a 9mm handgun, not hitting the defendants but breaking the car's rear window. The retaliatory shooter wasn't identified.

Relying on witnesses' statements and mall security surveillance videos, sheriff's detectives were eventually able to piece together what occurred, culminating in the arrests of Adams and Alvarado a month later. Santacroce was arrested in June of that year. 

He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.