A Riverside County judge Thursday signed a warrant for the arrest of a felon accused of pistol-whipping and shooting a San Jacinto man after the defendant failed to appear for a court hearing.
Fernando Garcia Jr., 41, of San Jacinto, is charged with firearm assault, assault with a deadly weapon, being a felon in possession of a gun, violating a criminal protective order and a sentence-enhancing great bodily injury allegation for the alleged 2020 attack.
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He's also charged with child cruelty in connection with another case that was consolidated with the assault complaint, but no information was available regarding that incident.
Garcia had been scheduled to appear for a status hearing Wednesday at the Banning Justice Center, but according to prosecutors, he did not show, prompting Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jorge Hernandez to sign a bench warrant for his arrest Thursday.
It's the second time the defendant failed to make a scheduled court appearance. On the prior occasion, in February 2022, a warrant was also issued, but it was quashed days later when Garcia was found.
His whereabouts now are unknown.
On April 30, 2020, Garcia was involved in an unspecified dispute with the victim, whose identity was not released, in the 800 block of Minor Street in San Jacinto.
Sheriff's Sgt. James Burton said during the confrontation, the defendant allegedly struck the man on the head with a handgun, then shot him in the back.
Deputies were alerted to the shooting minutes later and went to the location, along with paramedics, who found the man seriously wounded, Burton said.
The victim was taken to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley, where he underwent surgery and ultimately recovered.
Detectives soon identified Garcia as the alleged assailant, and he was located about two weeks later in Hemet, where he was taken into custody without incident.
Court records show he has a misdemeanor disturbing the peace conviction in Riverside County and a felony conviction, which wasn't specified, in another jurisdiction.
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