A felon accused of abusing two children in San Jacinto was charged Thursday with two misdemeanor counts of child endangerment.
Brian Eugene Hawkins, 44, of San Jacinto, was arrested Sunday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.
Hawkins, who is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside, was slated to be arraigned on the misdemeanor charges Thursday afternoon at the Banning Justice Center.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Anthony Pelato, patrol deputies were alerted to a domestic disturbance early Sunday afternoon at the defendant’s residence in the 400 block of Mistletoe Avenue and went to investigate.
After questioning witnesses, deputies learned Hawkins had “committed an assault on (the) two children,” Pelato alleged.
No further details were disclosed, including the identities of the minors.
Hawkins was taken into custody without incident, and the victims were left in the care of loved ones.
According to court records, the defendant has prior convictions for grand theft and auto theft, for which he served time in state prison.