Texas man pleads not guilty to 1993 murder of Riverside County woman
A retired truck driver from Texas pleaded not guilty to the 1993 murder of a Riverside County woman, prosecutors said.
The Riverside County District Attorney's Office charged Douglas Thomas, 71, with the murder of Sherri Herrera, 30, in 2022. Herrera's body was discovered on an I-10 Freeway on-ramp near Joshua Tree in 1993. Prosecutors said she was last seen alive just days before her body was found. She was a mother of four.
Riverside County investigators linked Thomas to Herrera's death after Texas Rangers used DNA evidence to connect the retired truck driver to the 1992 murder of a woman in Titus County, Texas. Thomas is currently serving a 40-year-to-life sentence after pleading guilty to the 1992 murder.
Prosecutors charged Thomas with murder after his DNA matched evidence recovered during the 1993 investigation, and the Riverside County Regional Cold Case team interviewed him in 2022.
While he is still serving his sentence for the 1992 case, Texas authorities transferred custody to California police as part of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers. Riverside County prosecutors said this will ensure Thomas "will face justice" for Herrera's death.
He was booked into a Riverside County jail on Aug. 25. Prosecutors said his felony settlement conference is scheduled for Dec. 3.