The Riverside County District Attorney's Office is seeking to pursue the death penalty against the man charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Deputy Darnell Calhoun.
While on active duty, the Riverside County deputy was killed by 42-year-old Jesse Ceazar Navarro of Lake Elsinore, according to a July 3 news release. District Attorney Mike Hestrin announced the decision to seek the death penalty against Navarro, who was indicted on a single count of murder, after firing numerous shots at Calhoun and hitting him several times.
"Deputy Calhoun showed incredible courage during a terrifying situation that unfolded in a matter of seconds," Hestrin said in the release. "His dedication to the community culminated in a ruthless attack by Navarro that also put the lives of many others at extreme peril."
Navarro faces special allegations in addition to the murder charge, which include the murder of a peace officer and intentionally firing a firearm from a vehicle with the intent to kill, according to the news release. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office said these particular allegations render Navarro eligible for the death penalty.
According to a report by Sgt. Deirdre Vickers of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Calhoun sustained life-threatening injuries within moments of arriving on the scene of an unknown trouble on Hilldale Lane in Lake Elsinore Jan. 13.
Navarro is accused of opening fire on Calhoun when the deputy approached the residence in the unincorporated area of Lakeland Village to investigate a domestic disturbance, the news release said. He is also accused of later shooting at an additional deputy who arrived to assist. Sheriff's deputies rushed Calhoun to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
The sheriff's department report said Navarro also was shot and his condition was first listed as critical.
An investigator from the District Attorney’s Office was assigned to take charge of the investigation with assistance from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Force Investigations Detail, the department's report added.
As the case heads for court, it will be prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Marcus Garrett of the DA’s Homicide Trial Team, the news release reported.