Man admits shooting at off-duty policeman near Lake Elsinore

City News Service

Special to the Valley News

A 37-year-old man who shot at an off-duty police officer during an act of road rage on the Ortega (74) Highway near Lake Elsinore pleaded guilty on Thursday, July 20, to felony charges.

Keith Frederick Prante of Mission Viejo admitted shooting at an occupied vehicle and unlawfully carrying a firearm under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors agreed to drop an as- sault charge against Prante. Superior Court Judge John Monterosso scheduled a sentencing hearing for Oct. 16 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta and permitted the defendant to remain free on a $135,000 bond.

There was no indication of what sentence the District Attorney’s Office is seeking.

According to California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Lassig, shortly before 8 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2021, the victim, identified as an off-duty San Bernardino police officer with the initials “T.S.,” was going east on Highway 74, ap-

Riverside program assists inmates at risk of homelessness

City News Service

Special to the Valley News

Roughly a half dozen detainees released from the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside without a place to sleep and at risk of homelessness have received assistance under an outreach program implemented earlier this year, officials said today.

“Project Connect” was approved by the Riverside City Council in January, leading to an agreement with Victory Outreach Church to manage “reentry services” for eligible inmates released from the downtown jail.

“When I became mayor, I launched a multi-pronged approach to the homeless crisis, an approach that includes intervention, as well as prevention,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said “If we can focus on preventing people from becoming homeless, we’ve addressed the issue at its core, and Project Connect does just that.”

Officials said that since the program went into full swing during the first week of May, five inmates signed up to receive assistance.

According to the city, a total of 25 people were contacted by Victory Outreach staff, but the majority of them declined services.

“We are really, really blessed to partner on this program,” Victory Outreach Senior Pastor Dell Castro said. “That is our heart, to reach out to these people and give them hope that there is an opportunity to change.”

Project Connect’s budget is $280,216. The funds are being made available via a pass-through account from the Riverside County Department of Housing & Workforce Solutions, which receives homeless aid grants from the federal and state governments.

Under the agreement, Victory Outreach Church, in coordination with the city’s Office of Homeless Solutions, aids individuals released from RPDC with finding lodgings, as well as potential employment opportunities.

“This is a very important program,” Councilman Chuck Conder said. “That’s the best way we can help them, to give them hope and follow up with the services they need.” proaching Decker Canyon Road, when the defendant abruptly stopped directly in front of him, blocking his path along the narrow two-lane corridor.

Officials said that roughly 20% of those people surveyed in last year’s countywide Point-In-Time Survey, which attempts to gauge the size of the chronically homeless population annually, indicated that they had been in the criminal justice system recently.

There was no word regarding what immediately preceded the action.

Lassig said that Prante leaned out of his vehicle with a .40-caliber pistol in hand and opened fire on the driver’s side of the victim’s car. However, none of the bullets penetrated the windshield. The defendant then accelerated away, but traveled only a couple of miles before pulling over to the shoulder of the highway, according to Lassig.

T.S. spotted Prante and, “fearing for his safety, stopped just west of the suspect’s location,” the CHP officer said. “The victim observed the suspect produce a handgun out the driver’s side window and begin to reverse toward the victim’s location,” Lassig said. “The victim, fearing for his life, fired a handgun ... toward the suspect.”

No one was injured.

Lassig said Prante immediately drove away, heading into Lake Elsinore, and the off-duty police- man trailed him at a safe distance, making a note of the license plate on the defendant’s vehicle, which soon disappeared from view.

T.S. called 911, and CHP officers and Riverside County sheriff’s deputies quickly converged on the area.

According to Lassig, Prante was identified as the shooter, and his whereabouts were confirmed the following morning, at which point he was taken into custody without incident.

Prante had no documented prior felony convictions.

Senior admits molesting young relative in Murrieta, sentenced to prison

City News Service Special to the Valley News

An 81-year-old man who repeatedly sexually molested a young relative when she stayed with him in Murrieta pleaded guilty on Wednesday, July 19, to three counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old and was sentenced to five years in state prison.

Jesus Zavala admitted the felony counts under a plea agreement just as his case was set for a preliminary hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta. In exchange for his admissions, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office dropped six related charges against Zavala.

Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

Zavala fled to Mexico when an investigation into the lewd acts on the girl, identified in court documents only as “A.L.,” was initiated early last year.

According to a Murrieta Police Department statement, the victim revealed in December 2021 that the defendant had molested her between 2018 and 2020, prompting an investigation by the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services and the police department.

The specific circumstances behind the sexual abuse, and Zavala’s exact relationship to the victim, were not disclosed.

Court papers said that he fon- dled her privates and rubbed her chest on different occasions.

Investigators said sufficient evidence was gathered to obtain a warrant for Zavala’s arrest. However, before it could be served, he “fled to Mexico, where he remained and avoided capture,” according to the police department.

It’s unknown what led him to return to the United States, where he was apprehended by Border Patrol agents at the Tecate Road Crossing on Aug. 10, 2022. He was turned over to Murrieta police officers a few days later based on the fugitive warrant and booked into the Byrd Detention Center.

Zavala had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.