Arrest made in Riverside homicide investigation that left 1 dead, 4 injured after suspect drove car into crowd
Riverside police have arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with an incident that left one person dead and four others injured when he drove a car into the middle of a crowd fighting outside of a party in May.
The original incident happened on May 24 at around 12:40 a.m., when Riverside Police Department officers said they were dispatched to the 3500 block of Franklin Avenue in the Eastside neighborhood for reports of an assault with a deadly weapon involving a vehicle.
Officers arrived and found that four people were struck by the vehicle. One person, now identified as 20-year-old Daisy Sandoval of San Bernardino, was pronounced dead at the scene following the crash. Four others were taken to nearby hospitals, two of whom were said to be critical and the other two who sustained serious injuries, according to police.
At the time, police said that they had detained a person of interest, but no formal arrests had been made. About two weeks later, they announced that 19-year-old Brian Sandoval had been arrested shortly after the incident occurred.
Sandoval was taken into custody for allegedly driving the car and hitting the victims. He was booked on murder charges and remains behind bars in lieu of $1 million bail.
Riverside police say that Brian Sandoval was at the house for a "flyer party," which was shut down by officers earlier in the evening.
"Following the conclusion of the event, a robbery and subsequent altercation occurred in the street," police said. "During this incident, Sandoval intentionally used his vehicle to strike multiple individuals."
On Friday, June 5, the Riverside County District Attorney announced that they had charged Brian Sandoval with first-degree murder, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of driving a motor vehicle without a license. He also faces two sentence-enhancing allegations of inflicting injuries that left victims comatose.
During the hearing, it was also revealed that Daisy Sandoval was the suspect's sister.
He is due back in court for arraignment on Wednesday, June 10, according to the DA's office.
