A preliminary hearing got underway Monday for a 18-year-old former Palos Verdes High School student accused of driving the getaway car in a fatal South Los Angeles shooting, with testimony centering on whether the defendant was affiliated with a local gang.

Cameron Terrell is facing one count of murder in the Oct. 1 shooting death of 21-year-old Justin Holmes, plus two counts of attempted murder and a gang allegation.

A gang expert is set to testify Tuesday in the preliminary hearing, which will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to order Terrell to proceed to trial.

Los Angeles police homicide Detective Stacey Szymkowiak, the prosecution’s first witness, testified that Holmes and two friends were walking on 78th Street near South Western Avenue when two teens turned out of an alley. One of the two asked, “Where are you from?” and pulled a handgun out of his blue hooded sweatshirt, according to the detective.

One of the three friends yelled, “Run!” and all three took off as four to five shots were fired, he said.

“Justin was hit (twice) and fell,” Szymkowiak said, testifying that an autopsy showed a bullet fired into his back proved fatal.

One of the Holmes’ friends alerted a local business and then ran back to stay with him until paramedics arrived. He later identified the 16-year-old shooter, an alleged gang member, from a “six-pack” of suspects provided by police, but said he didn’t know either teen who came out of the alley.

A chrome .38 Special revolver and ammunition were recovered from the 16-year-old’s home and he admitted to firing on Holmes, according to Szymkowiak.

Surveillance video captured the 16-year-old and another juvenile jumping into the back seat of a black Mercedes-Benz sedan after the shooting. The car, which was seen in other footage turning into the alley in question, was registered to Terrell’s father and was typically driven by Terrell, the detective said.

Szymkowiak said he interviewed Terrell 11 days after the shooting and “by the end of the conversation, he admitted that he was driving the car at the time.”

However, he also told the detective that the other two guys had been talking about “tagging” and that he didn’t know they planned to shoot anyone, according to the witness.

“He said he never let people inside his vehicle with firearms,” Szymkowiak testified.

A search of the Mercedes uncovered a light blue jersey with gang insignia and also, the detective said under cross-examination, a backpack with a spray paint can inside.

During cross-examination, Szymkowiak testified that the alleged shooter told her it looked like Holmes or someone in his group “might have, could have” had a gun and seemed to be reaching for his waistband. Police say Holmes and his two friends — who were named only by their initials in the criminal complaint citing them as victims of attempted murder — had no gang affiliations.

Terrell gave his cell phone to police along with his passcode and investigators found multiple videos and photos of the defendant flashing gang signs and showing off a curly W tattoo on his chest, Syzmkowiak said.

“He said he got (the tattoo) before he knew anything about (local gangs) … because he saw it on Kevin Durant and he thought it was cool,” the detective said.

One video showed the 16-year-old alleged shooter kicking over and breaking candles placed at the site where Holmes was killed. When the prosecutor played the video, a woman from the gallery filled with the victim’s family and friends stood up and left the courtroom.

However, Terrell insisted to police that he wasn’t a gang member, was “never officially jumped in” and didn’t take orders from “big homies,” though he told the detective that others might consider him a member, according to Szymkowiak’s testimony.

Defense attorney Jovan Blacknell stressed that his client was sitting in the car in the alley out of sight of the other two teens when he heard gunshots and that he drove away rather than toward the shooting.

Near the end of the detective’s testimony, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar asked whether Terrell had a gang moniker.

Szymkowiak said Terrell’s phone showed him referring to himself as “Milk,” despite the fact that he said he wasn’t in the gang.

Blacknell pointed out that the criminal complaint refers to Terrell as “White Boy” and asked her to explain the discrepancy.

“I’m not sure how that ended up in there,” the detective said.

Terrell and the two juvenile suspects were arrested Oct. 12. Terrell posted $5 million bail, prompting parents at Palos Verdes High School to call for his suspension when he returned to classes.

His parents — identified by the Daily Breeze as media consulting firm president Donald Wayne Terrell and interior designer Debra Terrell — agreed to pull him out of classes.

His attorney said Terrell is continuing to work toward finishing his high school education, though he did not say whether he is being home-schooled or attending classes elsewhere.

The two juveniles arrested are awaiting transfer to adult court.

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A preliminary hearing got underway Monday for a 18-year-old former Palos Verdes High School student accused of driving the getaway car in a fatal South Los Angeles shooting, with testimony centering on whether the defendant was affiliated with a local gang.

Cameron Terrell is facing one count of murder in the Oct. 1 shooting death of 21-year-old Justin Holmes, plus two counts of attempted murder and a gang allegation.

A gang expert is set to testify Tuesday in the preliminary hearing, which will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to order Terrell to proceed to trial.

Los Angeles police homicide Detective Stacey Szymkowiak, the prosecution’s first witness, testified that Holmes and two friends were walking on 78th Street near South Western Avenue when two teens turned out of an alley. One of the two asked, “Where are you from?” and pulled a handgun out of his blue hooded sweatshirt, according to the detective.

One of the three friends yelled, “Run!” and all three took off as four to five shots were fired, she said.

“Justin was hit (twice) and fell,” Szymkowiak said, testifying that an autopsy showed a bullet fired into his back proved fatal.

One of the Holmes’ friends alerted a local business and then ran back to stay with him until paramedics arrived. He later identified the 16-year-old shooter, an alleged gang member, from a “six-pack” of suspects provided by police, but said he didn’t know either teen who came out of the alley.

A chrome .38 Special revolver and ammunition were recovered from the 16-year-old’s home and he admitted to firing on Holmes, according to Szymkowiak.

Surveillance video captured the 16-year-old and another juvenile jumping into the back seat of a black Mercedes-Benz sedan after the shooting. The car, which was seen in other footage turning into the alley in question, was registered to Terrell’s father and was typically driven by Terrell, the detective said.

Szymkowiak said she interviewed Terrell 11 days after the shooting and “by the end of the conversation, he admitted that he was driving the car at the time.”

However, he also told the detective that the other two guys had been talking about “tagging” and that he didn’t know they planned to shoot anyone, according to the witness.

“He said he never let people inside his vehicle with firearms,” Szymkowiak testified.

A search of the Mercedes uncovered a light blue jersey with gang insignia and also, the detective said under cross-examination, a backpack with a spray paint can inside.

During cross-examination, Szymkowiak testified that the alleged shooter told her it looked like Holmes or someone in his group “might have, could have” had a gun and seemed to be reaching for his waistband. Police say Holmes and his two friends — who were named only by their initials in the criminal complaint citing them as victims of attempted murder — had no gang affiliations.

Terrell gave his cell phone to police along with his passcode and investigators found multiple videos and photos of the defendant flashing gang signs and showing off a curly W tattoo on his chest, Syzmkowiak said.

“He said he got (the tattoo) before he knew anything about (local gangs) … because he saw it on Kevin Durant and he thought it was cool,” the detective said.

One video showed the 16-year-old alleged shooter kicking over and breaking candles placed at the site where Holmes was killed. When the prosecutor played the video, a woman from the gallery filled with the victim’s family and friends stood up and left the courtroom.

However, Terrell insisted to police that he wasn’t a gang member, was “never officially jumped in” and didn’t take orders from “big homies,” though he told the detective that others might consider him a member, according to Szymkowiak’s testimony.

Defense attorney Jovan Blacknell stressed that his client was sitting in the car in the alley out of sight of the other two teens when he heard gunshots and that he drove away rather than toward the shooting.

Near the end of the detective’s testimony, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar asked whether Terrell had a gang moniker.

Szymkowiak said Terrell’s phone showed him referring to himself as “Milk,” despite the fact that he said he wasn’t in the gang.

Blacknell pointed out that the criminal complaint refers to Terrell as “White Boy” and asked her to explain the discrepancy.

“I’m not sure how that ended up in there,” the detective said.

Terrell and the two juvenile suspects were arrested Oct. 12. Terrell posted $5 million bail, prompting parents at Palos Verdes High School to call for his suspension when he returned to classes.

His parents — identified by the Daily Breeze as media consulting firm president Donald Wayne Terrell and interior designer Debra Terrell — agreed to pull him out of classes.

His attorney said Terrell is continuing to work toward finishing his high school education, though he did not say whether he is being home-schooled or attending classes elsewhere.

The two juveniles arrested are awaiting transfer to adult court.

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An alleged repeat DUI offender accused of crashing his pickup truck into an SUV in Palm Desert while under the influence, then leading sheriff’s deputies on a short pursuit, was charged Tuesday with hit-and-run causing injury, drunken driving and evading arrest.

William Christopher Fryrear, 48, of La Quinta, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center.

According to a declaration in support of increased bail, Fryrear has six previous DUI convictions, which prompted the sheriff’s department to request that his bail be increased to $750,000.

“He bragged about how much money he has and how he would be posting bail within the hour,” according to the declaration written by Deputy Nicole Wilhite. “Fryrear has no regard for life and I believe if he is released from jail, he will drive under the influence and potentially seriously injur(e) or kill an innocent person.”

Fryrear is accused of crashing his Dodge pickup into a Nissan SUV just after 5 p.m. last Thursday near Monterey Avenue and Country Club Drive. When deputies arrived on scene, witnesses told them that the pickup driver had fled the scene, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Jose Tijerina.

The truck was later spotted, but Fryrear allegedly sped away from deputies, who took him into custody about three miles southeast of the crash scene at Columbine Way and Lavender Drive, according to county jail records.

Fryrear was treated for minor injuries, then booked into the Riverside County jail in Indio. The SUV driver suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene, Tijerina said.

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Criminal charges were filed Tuesday against a Ventura County man who allegedly stole a Los Angeles Police Department patrol SUV in Hollywood and led officers on a chase to the San Fernando Valley last week.

Ethan Rutland, 28, is set to be arraigned Wednesday on one felony count each of driving or taking a law enforcement or fire department vehicle without consent and fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle while driving recklessly, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Rutland allegedly got into the SUV — which had its engine running and police weapons secured in the vehicle — and drove away as two officers responded to a call of an unrelated suspect running from other officers early last Friday morning.

Police quickly located the SUV, which was equipped with a GPS device, and chased it onto the northbound Hollywood (101) Freeway and into the San Fernando Valley, where the driver exited the freeway at Canoga Avenue in Woodland Hills.

Along the way, officers had deployed a spike strip.

Rutland was arrested after the vehicle hit a curb and stopped near Ventura Boulevard and DeSoto Avenue.

If convicted as charged, he could face up to eight years in state prison, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

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Arraignment is scheduled Wednesday for a Ventura County man who allegedly stole a Los Angeles Police Department patrol SUV in Hollywood and led officers on a chase to the San Fernando Valley.

Ethan Rutland, 28, was charged Tuesday with one felony count each of driving or taking a law enforcement or fire department vehicle without consent and fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle while driving recklessly, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Rutland allegedly got into the SUV — which had its engine running and police weapons secured in the vehicle — and drove away as two officers responded to a call of an unrelated suspect running from other officers early last Friday morning.

Police quickly located the SUV, which was equipped with a GPS device, and chased it onto the northbound Hollywood (101) Freeway and into the San Fernando Valley, where the driver exited the freeway at Canoga Avenue in Woodland Hills.

Along the way, officers had deployed a spike strip.

Rutland was arrested after the vehicle hit a curb and stopped near Ventura Boulevard and DeSoto Avenue.

If convicted as charged, he could face up to eight years in state prison, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

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A Desert Hot Springs man accused of barreling through a group of Tour de Palm Springs cyclists at 100 miles per hour, killing one of them, was charged Wednesday with murder, driving under the influence of drugs and driving on a suspended license.

Ronnie Ramon Huerta Jr., 21, is accused in the Feb. 10 crash that killed 54-year-old Mark Kristofferson of Lake Stevens, Washington, who was pronounced dead at the scene. A second cyclist, identified as Alyson A. in the criminal complaint, was airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs with major injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Huerta was treated for moderate injuries, then arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, but was released the following day on $75,000 bail, according to county jail records.

The CHP reported that Huerta was eastbound on Dillon Road near 30th Street in Indio Hills, traveling about 100 mph, when he lost control of a 2006 Ford 500 sedan that began swerving across the roadway about 9:25 a.m. The car struck the two cyclists before hitting a berm and rolling over.

Riverside County court records show Huerta has been cited for speeding four times since July 2015, with three of those stops occurring in the early part of 2017.

Last February, he was stopped for speeding on Monterey Avenue, north of Country Club Drive in Palm Desert, and was stopped on two more occasions last May, court records show.

On May 2 last year, he was stopped for speeding on Interstate 10, near Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City, and was stopped again on May 18 on Palm Drive near Camino Aventura, near Desert Hot Springs. Between the speeding violations, he also was cited last April in Coachella for running a stop sign and using a cell phone while driving, according to court records.

The Associated Press reported that his license was suspended in December for being “a negligent vehicle operator” and for failures to appear in court.

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A Desert Hot Springs man accused of barreling through a group of Tour de Palm Springs cyclists at 100 miles per hour, killing one of them, was charged Wednesday with murder, driving under the influence of drugs and driving on a suspended license.

Prosecutors allege that Ronnie Ramon Huerta Jr., 21, was driving under the influence of marijuana at the time of the Feb. 10 crash that killed 54-year-old Mark Kristofferson of Lake Stevens, Washington. A second cyclist, Alyson Lee Akers of Huntington Beach, was airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs with major injuries.

Huerta was treated for moderate injuries prior to his arrest, and was released the following day on $75,000 bail.

He entered a not guilty plea Wednesday morning and was booked into county jail on $1 million bail, the standard amount in a murder case. He’s due back in court April 18 for a felony settlement conference.

The California Highway Patrol reported that Huerta was eastbound on Dillon Road near 30th Street in Indio Hills, traveling about 100 mph, when he lost control of a 2006 Ford 500 sedan that began swerving across the roadway about 9:25 a.m. The car struck the two cyclists before hitting a berm and rolling over.

Riverside County court records show Huerta has been cited for speeding four times since July 2015, with three of those stops occurring in the early part of 2017.

Last February, he was stopped for speeding on Monterey Avenue, north of Country Club Drive in Palm Desert, and was stopped on two more occasions last May, court records show.

On May 2 last year, he was stopped for speeding on Interstate 10, near Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City, and was stopped again on May 18 on Palm Drive near Camino Aventura, near Desert Hot Springs. Between the speeding violations, he also was cited last April in Coachella for running a stop sign and using a cell phone while driving, according to court records.

The Associated Press reported that his license was suspended in December for being “a negligent vehicle operator” and for failures to appear in court.

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A man accused of killing a woman and seriously injuring her passenger while driving under the influence of alcohol in French Valley was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder and felony DUI.

Elvis Eugene Tate, 59, of Winchester was arrested Sunday after the crash that killed 27-year-old Ashley Alcarez, also of Winchester.

He’s being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside and is slated to make his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Tate was at the wheel of a 2003 Mitsubishi Galant going north on Winchester Road at roughly 50 mph when he failed to stop for a red light at Benton Road about 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Officer Mike Lassig said that as the defendant approached Benton, the victim initiated a left turn in her 2016 Honda Civic from the westbound lane, intending to head south on Winchester. She was turning on a green light, Lassig said.

“(Tate) failed to stop for the red traffic signal … and the front of his vehicle collided with the (driver’s side) door of the victim’s vehicle, killing her instantly and inflicting major injuries on her passenger,” the officer said. “After the initial collision, the vehicles continued out of control and struck two additional vehicles that were stopped in the southbound lanes of Winchester.”

Riverside County Fire Department paramedics pronounced Alcarez dead at the scene.

Her front-seat passenger, 28-year-old Anthony Lewis of Winchester, was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar for treatment. He is recovering from his injuries.

According to Lassig, the occupants of the two stopped vehicles that were struck received attention from paramedics but declined to be taken to the hospital for further examination.

Tate was transported to Inland Valley Medical Center and treated for moderate injuries, after which he was booked into jail.

He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

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A man recently charged with the deaths of a dozen dogs found inside a stolen U-Haul truck in Thousand Palms pleaded not guilty Wednesday to additional animal cruelty charges involving nine cats he allegedly left inside a Palm Springs storage facility unit, one of which died.

Douglas John Yates, 55, is slated to return to court May 9 for a felony settlement conference. He remains free on his own recognizance on the condition that he does not care for or have custody of any animals.

Yates, who is facing more than 20 felony animal cruelty counts in two separate cases, was arrested Feb. 15 after 12 dogs were allegedly found dead inside a stolen U-Haul truck somewhere on Varner Road.

Yates, who’s out of custody on $10,000 bail, was initially contacted during the stolen vehicle investigation, after which deputies located the deceased dogs, according to sheriff’s Deputy Armando Munoz. How the dogs died was not disclosed.

He rented the U-Haul from Blythe Freeway Towing on Jan. 15, but failed to return it, according to an arrest warrant declaration. The company reported the truck missing to police a week later, triggering a felony vehicle theft charge.

Last week, prosecutors also filed nine new animal cruelty counts and a single count of burglary against Yates for allegedly leaving nine cats inside a unit at StorAmerica Self Storage in Palm Springs. The felines were inside the unit for at least four days in June 2017 until it was forced open by another person renting a unit at the facility, the declaration states.

The cats were “confined in small cages, which were covered in feces and urine, within the locked and unventilated storage unit,” according to a police statement. The average temperature on the four days preceding the cats’ release from the storage unit was 102 degrees, according to the declaration.

In 2006, Yates pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty charges involving emaciated dogs and cats he kept at a La Quinta property.

According to a probation officer’s report in that case, Yates was working as a contractor at a La Quinta rental home in 2003, and kept two dogs there while the homeowners were away, initially with their permission.

Animal Control officers were first called to the home on a report of two abandoned canines, and found “that both dogs had no food or water and feces was scattered over the floor.” Months later, the homeowners called Animal Control, alleging that Yates had also brought seven cats into the home without permission, according to the report, which says the animals were diagnosed with “emaciation, dehydration and malnutrition” by a veterinarian.

La Quinta Animal Control Officer Steve Alexander stated in the report that “he has only observed one other dog is such a severe malnourished and neglected condition as the defendant’s two dogs.” The officer also recommended that Yates “be prohibited from owning or caring for animals.”

The report noted several other past occasions when Animal Control officers cited Yates for housing an excessive number of animals.

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A Riverside woman accused of fatally bludgeoning her boyfriend in his bed was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder.

Teresa Louise Demar, 61, was arrested Saturday by Riverside police and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Prelsey Jail in Riverside.

Along with the murder count, Demar is charged with sentence-enhancing weapon and great bodily injury allegations in the death of the victim, identified in court documents only as “A.D.”

She made her initial court appearance before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Emma Smith, who appointed her a public defender and scheduled her arraignment for April 30 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

According to Riverside police, officers were called to the 9000 block of Hope Avenue about 7 a.m. Saturday to investigate reports of a deadly assault. The patrolmen found the victim fatally injured in his bed.

Homicide detectives were summoned and determined that the resident had been struck over the head several times with a heavy object, though there was no mention of what kind. A possible motive for the attack also was not disclosed.

Demar was questioned and ultimately booked into jail. She has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

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Arraignment was delayed again Wednesday for a Ventura County man who allegedly stole a Los Angeles Police Department patrol SUV in Hollywood and led officers on a chase to the San Fernando Valley.

Ethan Rutland, 28, was charged Tuesday with one felony count each of driving or taking a law enforcement or fire department vehicle without consent and fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle while driving recklessly, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. His arraignment, originally planned Tuesday but delayed until Wednesday, was postponed again until Thursday.

Rutland allegedly got into the SUV — which had its engine running and police weapons secured in the vehicle — and drove away as two officers responded to a call of an unrelated suspect running from other officers early last Friday morning.

Police quickly located the SUV, which was equipped with a GPS device, and chased it onto the northbound Hollywood (101) Freeway and into the San Fernando Valley, where the driver exited the freeway at Canoga Avenue in Woodland Hills.

Along the way, officers had deployed a spike strip.

Rutland was arrested after the vehicle hit a curb and stopped near Ventura Boulevard and DeSoto Avenue.

If convicted as charged, he could face up to eight years in state prison, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

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An ex-con was charged Thursday with shooting a man and setting fire to his remains in a car abandoned on the south end of Perris.

Mario Salvador Aleja Renteria, 29, was arrested Monday within hours of allegedly killing the victim, whom coroner’s officials have only been able to identify as “Pollo,” and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.

He’s scheduled to make his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice on charges of murder and igniting a fire to conceal evidence, with a sentence-enhancing gun use allegation.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Ben Ramirez, Renteria was identified as the alleged perpetrator shortly after detectives initiated an investigation into the death of the victim, whose body had been left in a vehicle set alight near the intersection of Monolith Trail and Monument Parkway.

County firefighters discovered the smoldering remains after extinguishing the blaze about 5:50 p.m. Monday, and Ramirez said that before detectives could begin processing evidence, they received reports of an assault in the 21000 block of Magnolia Avenue in Lakeland Village involving an individual possibly connected to the fire.

According to the sergeant, deputies went to the location and, with the help of a sheriff’s helicopter crew, tracked down Renteria driving eastbound.

He was stopped by patrolmen on Ethanac Road in Menifee and detained without any trouble. The person whom he was allegedly assaulting was not identified.

Ramirez said there were “several crime scenes,” and after collecting evidence at each one and questioning Renteria, the probationer was jailed.

A possible motive for the homicide was not disclosed.

According to court records, Renteria has prior convictions for attempted carjacking, robbery and domestic abuse.

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A former professor at Grace Mission University in Fullerton has a May 1 arraignment date on charges of exposing himself to two female pedestrians in Cerritos and Artesia last year.

Dong-Hyun Huh, 46, of Norwalk, faces up to two years in local custody, along with sex offender registration, if convicted of two misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure, according to Los Angeles County prosecutors.

The first flashing incident allegedly occurred about 4 p.m. last Sept. 15. A 34-year-old woman was walking near Marquardt Avenue and Ashworth Street in Cerritos and saw a white SUV pull in front of her, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The driver, later identified as Huh, allegedly called the woman to his vehicle and exposed his genitals to her, according to a sheriff’s statement. She walked away from the SUV and notified law enforcement.

A short time later, near Gridley Road and Artesia Boulevard in Artesia, a 19-year-old woman “was called over to a sport utility vehicle and the driver had his genitals exposed while he masturbated,” according to the sheriff’s statement. She fled and notified the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station.

Huh was arrested March 6 by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and released on bond early the next morning, according to jail records.

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A Ventura County man who allegedly stole a Los Angeles Police Department patrol SUV in Hollywood and led officers on a chase to the San Fernando Valley last week pleaded not guilty Friday to a pair of felony counts.

Ethan Rutland, 28, is charged with one count each of driving or taking a law enforcement or fire department vehicle without consent and fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle while driving recklessly.

Rutland allegedly got into the SUV — which had its engine running and police weapons secured in the vehicle — and drove away as two officers responded to a call of an unrelated suspect running from other officers early the morning of April 6,.

Police quickly located the vehicle, which had a GPS device in it, and chased it onto the northbound Hollywood (101) Freeway and into the San Fernando Valley, where the vehicle got off the freeway at Canoga Avenue in Woodland Hills, authorities said. Along the way, officers had deployed a spike strip.

Rutland was arrested after the vehicle hit a curb and stopped near Ventura Boulevard and DeSoto Avenue.

He is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom April 26 for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.

If convicted as charged, Rutland could face up to eight years in state prison, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

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Two 22-year-old South Los Angeles men were charged Friday with robbing an undercover U.S. Secret Service agent at gunpoint under the pretense of selling him counterfeit money.

Richard Taron “Profit” Henderson and Tyre Jordan “Reckless” Simmons were named in a six-count indictment alleging a transaction involving counterfeit currency and the armed robbery of the undercover agent, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Both men faces charges of conspiracy, robbery, assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and using a firearm during a crime of violence. Henderson is additionally charged with dealing counterfeit money, and Simmons is accused of being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to prosecutors.

The indictment details an incident last Oct. 18 in which Henderson allegedly sold 250 counterfeit $20 bills as part of a Secret Service investigation into the trafficking of counterfeit money.

As the probe continued, Henderson allegedly negotiated a deal to sell $40,000 in counterfeit money. However, the deal was a pretense to rob the undercover agent who was posing as a buyer of the bogus currency, according to the indictment.

On March 26, Henderson arranged the meeting in South Los Angeles and prepared for it by stuffing clothes into a duffel bag to make it appear that the bag was filled with counterfeit bills, according to the indictment filed in Los Angeles federal court.

Henderson dispatched Simmons to meet with the agent. During the meeting, Simmons allegedly produced a Taurus 9mm handgun, pointed it in the face of the undercover agent and robbed him of $4,500 in genuine United States currency and the keys to the undercover Secret Service vehicle. In committing the robbery, Henderson and Simmons put the life of the undercover agent in jeopardy by using a dangerous weapon, federal prosecutors allege.

Simmons, who was convicted of robbery in Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2016, is expected to be arraigned on the indictment Thursday, and Henderson’s arraignment is set for the following day.

If convicted as charged, Henderson would face up to 20 years behind bars on the counterfeit money charge. Both defendants would face up to 50 years for the charges related to the alleged robbery, plus a mandatory seven-year sentence related to the use of the firearm. Further, Simmons would face up to 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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Trial is scheduled in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday in the case of a longtime immigration agent accused of helping a Mexican national with multiple convictions re-enter the country illegally.

Felix Cisneros Jr., a 44-year-old Murrieta resident, worked with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for 10 years and was assigned to the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations office in the Inland Empire when charged last year, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Cisneros, who worked as an undercover agent and investigated money laundering as well as human and narcotics trafficking, is charged in a seven-count federal indictment with conspiracy to aid or assist entry of an aggravated felon, falsification of records, tampering with a witness, making false statements and other crimes.

He was allegedly contacted in 2013 by a key figure of a criminal organization based in Southern California to assist the unidentified Mexican national, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.

At the time, the man was working for the organized crime leader in the oil and gas industry, and had traveled to Mexico to negotiate business transactions, prosecutors contend.

When the man tried to re-enter the United States in July 2013, he was detained at Los Angeles International Airport and his passport was confiscated because of an arrest warrant for fraud, documents state.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that the Mexico native was a legal permanent resident of the U.S. but had multiple criminal convictions for financial fraud. Cisneros allegedly helped the felon regain his passport and re-enter the U.S. at LAX “likely through deception,” according to federal prosecutors.

The trial before U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder is expected to last about six days.

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A 28-year-old man was charged Tuesday with capital murder for allegedly setting fire to a music studio in Studio City last Saturday, killing two men and leaving a 15-year-old girl and a man in his 20s critically injured.

Efrem Zimbalist Demery Jr. of Los Angeles is set to be arraigned Tuesday in a Van Nuys courtroom on two counts each of murder and attempted murder and one count of arson of a structure.

The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders. Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Demery, whom police said may have had a prior dispute with at least one of the two men who was killed.

The criminal complaint also includes allegations that Demery used an accelerant and committed great bodily injury during the commission of the crime.

Investigators believe that Demery knew and had been together with the two deceased victims — DeVaughn Cemar Carter, 28, and Michael Pollard Jr., 30, both of Los Angeles — and that a dispute erupted with one or both of them, according to Los Angeles Police Department Chief of Detectives Justin Eisenberg.

Demery then went across the street from Top Notch Recordings at 3779 N. Cahuenga Blvd., bought gas at a Chevron station and returned to torch the interior of the building before fleeing out a rear door, Eisenberg alleged.

Firefighters were dispatched at 6:54 a.m. Saturday to the building and had the greater-alarm fire out within 28 minutes of their arrival.

A K-9 on loan to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives detected an accelerant, and forensic evidence, surveillance video and witness statements caused investigators to zero in on Demery, according to Capt. William Hayes of the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division.

Demery, who is believed to have been friends with at least one of the dead men, allegedly poured fuel in a hallway and set it ablaze, Hayes said, adding that Carter and Pollard were in one room and the two injured victims were in separate areas of the studio at the time.

Responding firefighters found all four victims down inside the building.

The injured girl and man appear to have no connection to Demery or the dead victims, police said.

Carter and Pollard were pronounced dead at the scene and the two injured victims remain hospitalized in critical condition with “significant burns,” Eisenberg said Monday.

The nature of the possible dispute between Demery and the other two men remains under investigation, Hayes said.

Demery — whose prior criminal history includes burglary and selling counterfeit goods — was arrested on suspicion of murder about 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the area of 135th Street and Avalon Boulevard in the Willowbrook area when a California Highway Patrol officer stopped him for a traffic violation, according to Eisenberg.

By the time he was stopped, Demery had already been identified as a suspect in the Saturday morning fire, which Eisenberg called a “senseless and horrific crime.”

Demery has been held without bail since his arrest.

The building houses independent producers and studios, Shad Rabbani, the leasing agent for the building, told the Los Angeles Times. The facility has 13 studios, he said.

“They have a lot of clients and it’s 24/7, so I have no idea who is coming and who is going out,” Rabbani said.

Songwriter and artist L.A. Pryce said he had worked all night in one of the studios, fallen asleep and was awakened by a friend.

“My boy was like, `Yo wake up. Smell That?’ So I opened the door. It’s just blacked out smoke,” Pryce told the newspaper. “And then I see flames. I broke for the door and got out. I lost everything, hard drive, computer, everything’s gone.”

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A 28-year-old man was charged Tuesday with capital murder for allegedly setting fire to a music studio in Studio City last Saturday, killing two men and leaving a 15-year-old girl and a man in his 20s critically injured.

Efrem Zimbalist Demery Jr. of Los Angeles is set to be arraigned Tuesday in a Van Nuys courtroom on two counts each of murder and attempted murder and one count of arson of a structure.

The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders. Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Demery, whom police said may have had a prior dispute with at least one of the two men who was killed.

The criminal complaint also includes allegations that Demery used an accelerant and committed great bodily injury during the commission of the crime.

Investigators believe that Demery knew and had been together with the two deceased victims — DeVaughn Cemar Carter, 28, and Michael Pollard Jr., 30, both of Los Angeles — and that a dispute erupted with one or both of them, according to Los Angeles Police Department Chief of Detectives Justin Eisenberg.

Demery then went across the street from Top Notch Recordings at 3779 N. Cahuenga Blvd., bought gas at a Chevron station and returned to torch the interior of the building before fleeing out a rear door, Eisenberg alleged.

Firefighters were dispatched at 6:54 a.m. Saturday to the building and had the greater-alarm fire out within 28 minutes of their arrival.

A K-9 on loan to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives detected an accelerant, and forensic evidence, surveillance video and witness statements caused investigators to zero in on Demery, according to Capt. William Hayes of the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division.

Demery, who is believed to have been friends with at least one of the dead men, allegedly poured fuel in a hallway and set it ablaze, Hayes said, adding that Carter and Pollard were in one room and the two injured victims were in separate areas of the studio at the time.

Responding firefighters found all four victims down inside the building.

The injured girl and man appear to have no connection to Demery or the dead victims, police said.

Carter and Pollard were pronounced dead at the scene and the two injured victims remain hospitalized in critical condition with “significant burns,” Eisenberg said Monday.

The nature of the possible dispute between Demery and the other two men remains under investigation, Hayes said.

Demery — whose prior criminal history includes burglary and selling counterfeit goods — was arrested on suspicion of murder about 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the area of 135th Street and Avalon Boulevard in the Willowbrook area when a California Highway Patrol officer stopped him for a traffic violation, according to Eisenberg.

By the time he was stopped, Demery had already been identified as a suspect in the Saturday morning fire, which Eisenberg called a “senseless and horrific crime.”

Demery has been held without bail since his arrest.

The building houses independent producers and studios, Shad Rabbani, the leasing agent for the building, told the Los Angeles Times. The facility has 13 studios, he said.

“They have a lot of clients and it’s 24/7, so I have no idea who is coming and who is going out,” Rabbani said.

Songwriter and artist L.A. Pryce said he had worked all night in one of the studios, fallen asleep and was awakened by a friend.

“My boy was like, `Yo wake up. Smell That?’ So I opened the door. It’s just blacked out smoke,” Pryce told the newspaper. “And then I see flames. I broke for the door and got out. I lost everything, hard drive, computer, everything’s gone.”

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A 28-year-old man was charged Tuesday with capital murder for allegedly setting fire to a music studio last Saturday in Studio City, killing two men and leaving a 15-year-old girl and a man in his 20s critically injured.

Efrem Zimbalist Demery Jr. of Los Angeles was ordered to be held without bail while awaiting arraignment May 17 at the Van Nuys courthouse on two counts each of murder and attempted murder and one count of arson of a structure. A special circumstance allegation of multiple murders could result in the death penalty if he’s convicted, but prosecutors have yet to decide whether to pursue capital punishment.

The criminal complaint includes allegations that Demery used an accelerant and committed great bodily injury during the commission of the crime.

Investigators believe that Demery knew and had been together with the deceased victims — DeVaughn Cemar Carter, 28, and Michael Pollard Jr., 30, both of Los Angeles — and that a dispute erupted with one or both of them, according to Los Angeles Police Department Chief of Detectives Justin Eisenberg.

Demery then went across the street from Top Notch Recordings at 3779 N. Cahuenga Blvd., bought gas at a Chevron station and returned to torch the interior of the building before fleeing out a rear door, Eisenberg alleged.

Firefighters were dispatched at 6:54 a.m. Saturday to the building and had the greater-alarm fire out within 28 minutes of their arrival, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

A K-9 on loan to the LAFD’s Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives detected an accelerant, and forensic evidence, surveillance video and witness statements caused investigators to zero in on Demery, according to Capt. William Hayes of the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division.

Demery, who is believed to have been friends with at least one of the dead men, allegedly poured fuel in a hallway and set it ablaze, Hayes said, adding that Carter and Pollard were in one room and the two injured victims were in separate areas of the studio at the time.

Responding firefighters found all four victims down inside the building.

The injured girl and man appear to have no connection to Demery or the dead victims, police said.

Carter and Pollard were pronounced dead at the scene and the two injured victims remain hospitalized in critical condition with “significant burns,” Eisenberg said Monday.

The nature of the possible dispute between Demery and the other two men remains under investigation, Hayes said.

Demery — whose prior criminal history includes burglary and selling counterfeit goods — was arrested on suspicion of murder about 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the area of 135th Street and Avalon Boulevard in the Willowbrook area when a California Highway Patrol officer stopped him for a traffic violation, according to Eisenberg.

By the time he was stopped, Demery had already been identified as a suspect in the Saturday morning fire, which Eisenberg called a “senseless and horrific crime.”

Demery has been held without bail since his arrest.

The building houses independent producers and studios, Shad Rabbani, the leasing agent for the building, told the Los Angeles Times. The facility has 13 studios, he said.

“They have a lot of clients and it’s 24/7, so I have no idea who is coming and who is going out,” Rabbani said.

Songwriter and artist L.A. Pryce said he had worked all night in one of the studios, fallen asleep and was awakened by a friend.

“My boy was like, `Yo wake up. Smell That?’ So I opened the door. It’s just blacked out smoke,” Pryce told the newspaper. “And then I see flames. I broke for the door and got out. I lost everything, hard drive, computer, everything’s gone.”

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Felony charges were filed Tuesday against a convicted felon accused of dealing drugs in Murrieta and being in possession of a semiautomatic rifle and other weapons.

Matthew Patrick Fromer, 46, of Wildomar faces two counts each of possession of controlled substances for sale and being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm and one count of being in possession of a gun while selling a controlled substance, with sentence-enhancing allegation of committing a crime while on bail.

The defendant pleaded not guilty, and Riverside County Superior Court Judge Kelly Hansen scheduled a felony settlement conference for May 7 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.

According to Murrieta police Lt. Ron Driscoll, the agency’s narcotics unit began investigating Fromer earlier this month for suspected narcotics activity in the city, culminating in search warrants being obtained and served at his residence on Mission Trail last Thursday.

Inside the defendant’s home, investigators seized an AR-15 rifle, a 9mm handgun, a .22 rifle and a replica pistol, along with nearly 1,500 rounds of ammunition, Driscoll said.

The investigation also led to the seizure of 22.6 grams of methamphetamine and 3.8 grams of cocaine, the sergeant alleged.

According to court records, Fromer has an unresolved case pending from last August related to a driving under the influence crash that seriously injured a person.

His prior felony convictions were not specified in court documents.

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