Felon who killed girlfriend, ed to Las Vegas with son sentenced

City News Service Special to Valley News

A convicted felon who fatally shot his girlfriend and then fled to Las Vegas with his and the victim’s 2-year-old son was sentenced on June 2 to 113 years to life in state prison.

A Murrieta jury in April convicted Celestine John Stoot Jr., 44, of Lake Elsinore of first-degree murder, child cruelty, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations for the July 2021 slaying of 43-year-old Natasha Denise Barlow of San Jacinto.

imprisonment for the offenses. According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney’s Office, at the time of the shooting, Stoot and Barlow were living together at his residence in the 17600 block of Hayes Ave., along with several of her young children from a prior relationship and their son, also named Celestine, but commonly called “C.J.”

Stoot and Barlow went to bed, leading to a physical confrontation, during which he struck her over the head with a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, court papers said.

After hitting her several times, the defendant fatally shot her through the neck. The bullet went through a wall into the children’s room, but none were injured, according to the brief.

During the predawn hours of July 5, sheriff’s deputies received a report that Barlow had been fatally shot, and investigators went to the house, immediately identifying Stoot as the perpetrator.

A statewide Amber Alert was issued, asking the public to be on the lookout for the felon and child and providing a description of the car he was driving.

Celestine John Stoot Jr. Valley News/Riverside Sheriff’s Office photo

Murrieta Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jeff Zimel imposed the maximum term of

On July 4, 2021, Stoot and Barlow attended a Fourth of July party at a friend’s house, where the couple got into an argument stemming from what the defendant considered her disrespectful attitude, mainly “talking back to him” when he told her to do something, the brief said.

The conflict escalated before

Menifee student suspected of bringing gun onto middle school campus

During a sentencing hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in City News Service

Special to the Valley News

A middle school student in Menifee was arrested for allegedly carrying a gun in his backpack while on campus, authorities said Thursday, June 1. The student, whose identity was not disclosed due to his age, was taken into custody Wednesday, May 31, at Ethan Chase Middle School on Calm Horizon Drive, according to the Menifee Police Department.

Capt. Heriberto Gutierrez said that police officers were at the school to investigate an unrelated incident and were informed by staff that the suspect was walking around campus with a concealed firearm.

“Staff immediately located the identified subject and escorted (him) to the office,” the captain said. “Officers assisted with the search based on the allegations made and located an unloaded firearm in the subject’s backpack. There were no threats made to the school or other students on campus by the subject.” No classrooms were placed on lockdown.

A possible motive for the juvenile’s allegedly bringing the gun to school was not provided.

The youth was arrested and booked into Riverside Juvenile Hall on suspicion of possession of a firearm on school grounds, a felony, according to Gutierrez. “MPD would like to urge parents to have productive conversations with their children regarding the dangers of being in possession of a firearm,” he said. “Bringing a firearm or any other weapon onto school grounds is a criminal offense and will be investigated thoroughly by MPD.”

Felon who attacked Riverside girl sentenced to state prison

City News Service

Special to Valley News

A 23-year-old probationer with a long arrest sheet who tried to sexually assault a Riverside girl at a recreational facility was sentenced Friday, June 2 to four years, six months in state prison.

Robert Willie Bates of Hemet pleaded guilty in March to attempted rape. In exchange for his admission, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office dropped a charge of contacting a minor with intent to commit a crime.

During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Friday, Superior Court Judge Charles Koosed certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

According to the Riverside Police Department, on the afternoon of April 15, 2022, Bates confronted the victim, identified in court documents only as a teenage girl with the initials “L.H.,” at the Orange Terrace Park Community Center, brandished an Airsoft pistol, which fires plastic projectiles, and tried to force himself on her.

The teen resisted and got away from him, investigators said. Patrol officers were called to the location, but Bates had already fled by the time they got there.

Detectives from the police department’s Sexual Assault-Child

Abuse unit followed up, gathering evidence that ultimately pointed to Bates as the perpetrator. He was arrested a month later.

According to court documents, Bates has an extensive criminal record going back to 2018, with convictions in adult court for felony and misdemeanor vandalism, receiving a stolen vehicle, theft and violating a court order.

Bates’ juvenile record was not disclosed, but according to the criminal complaint in the attempted rape case, “sustained petitions in juvenile delinquency proceedings ... are numerous.”

Bates has not previously served time in prison.