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Man sentenced to life without parole for raping, killing fiancée According to trial testimony,


MURRIETA – A Pala man who


raped and fatally stabbed his 27- year-old fiancée in a car outside a Temecula mall was sentenced on Jan. 27 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Mickey David Wagstaff, 27,


was convicted Dec. 1 of first-de- gree murder, and jurors found true special circumstance allegations of killing during a sexual assault and killing during a kidnapping in the death of Elizabeth Kellenbarger Amirian. Riverside County Superior Court


Judge Mark Mandio imposed the sentence after friends and family of the victim addressed the court, recalling Amirian’s life and the ef- fect of losing her.


Wagstaff sexually assaulted Amirian while she was locked in his Toyota Previa in a parking garage at The Promenade mall. The couple had been arguing about marriage plans and whether it was appropriate to have sex before ex- changing vows. Prosecutors said Wagstaff forced


the victim to stay with him during the two days leading up to the as- sault, driving to different locations before finally arriving in Temecula. At one point, the defendant bound the woman’s ankles to keep her from running away. Moments after the rape, a sher-


iff’s sergeant – in response to a re- quest by mall security – approached


Wagstaff’s vehicle and tapped on the window to check on the welfare of the occupants. Sgt. Keith Knotek said that when


Wagstaff saw him standing there, the defendant took out a knife and began plunging it into Amirian. Knotek said he smashed a win-


dow and deployed a Taser to stop the attack, which lasted more than a minute. Amirian, who was stabbed 39


times in the head, back, and neck, died at the scene. Wagstaff’s attorney, Deputy Pub-


lic Defender Renee Rupp, argued that her client had not planned to kill his fiancée but panicked when he saw the law enforcement officer.


Man pleads not guilty to forcing grandma to give him money MURRIETA – An ex-con ac-


cused of forcing his 87-year-old grandmother to write him a check so he could buy drugs pleaded not guilty on Jan. 31 to robbery and other charges. Tyler James Wedge, 25, could


face more than 15 years in prison if convicted of one count each of robbery, burglary, receiving stolen property, and selling illegal drugs, and two counts of possession of illegal narcotics. Wedge appeared with his public defender before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Michael


Rushton, who set a felony settle- ment conference. The defendant remains in cus-


tody in lieu of $150,000 bail at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta. Murrieta police arrested the probationer on Jan. 17 after his grandmother alleged that he had forced her to give him money. According to Murrieta police Lt.


Tony Conrad, Wedge was visiting the woman’s home when he al- legedly took her checkbook and drafted a check to himself, compel- ling the victim to sign it.


Woman killed by suspected drunk driver in Winchester WINCHESTER – A head-on


crash in Winchester that killed a 55-year-old woman was triggered by an alleged drunken driver, au- thorities said on Jan. 30. Jason M. Richter, 30, of Oceans-


ide, lost control of his vehicle shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday, ac- cording to the California Highway Patrol. CHP Officer Nathan Baer said


Richter was southbound on state Route 79, near Scott Road, in his 2002 Pontiac Grand Am, with his wife in the front passenger seat, when the sedan drifted into north- bound lanes. Louisa Valdovinos was going


north on the highway in her 2003 Toyota Corolla, traveling about 55 mph, when Richter’s vehicle struck hers, Baer said. The Menifee woman was killed on impact. Richter and his wife suffered moderate to major injuries in the collision, Baer said. They were taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar for treatment. Richter is believed to be a Camp Pendleton-based Marine. The CHP will be seeking felony


DUI and gross vehicular man- slaughter charges against the sus- pect.


The Valley News • www.myvalleynews.com • February 3, 2012


After receiving the woman’s complaint, officers went to the defendant’s Wildomar residence on Arnett Road and conducted a search, Conrad said. “A probation search…produced


a considerable amount of prescrip- tion drugs,” the lieutenant said. “Further investigation revealed those controlled substances were in Mr. Wedge’s possession for the purpose of illegal sales.” Wedge has a prior conviction for


fraud, for which he served a year in prison, according to court records.


Menifee man charged for allegedly gunning down girlfriend


MENIFEE – A man who alleg-


edly shot his girlfriend to death in- side his Menifee home was charged on Jan. 29 with murder. Adam Michael Starkey, 31, could


face 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the murder count, as well as gun and great bodily injury allegations, in the fatal attack Tues- day night, Jan. 24, on 38-year-old Jennifer Bowers. Starkey, who’s being held in lieu


of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley jail in Riverside, was slated to be arraigned this at the Riverside


Man out on bail after allegedly striking Chihuahua with golf club MENIFEE – A Menifee man


suspected of fatally beating a neighbor’s Chihuahua with a golf club was released from jail on Jan. 27 on $5,000 bail. Larry Edward Jaurequi, 58, was booked on suspicion of felony animal cruelty Thursday afternoon for allegedly striking the six-pound dog so hard that he “sent the animal flying through the air,” said Riv- erside County sheriff ’s Sergio Rodriguez. Jaurequi posted bond this morn-


ing and was released from the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta. “He’s sick, totally sick,” Bar-


bara Hitchman, the owner of the pint-sized pooch named Lilly, told


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ABC7. “I hope he does get justice. People like him should be locked away.”


According to Rodriguez, around


2 p.m. Thursday, Lilly got loose from Hitchman’s residence in the 28100 block of Summitrose Drive, near High Ridge Circle, and roamed into a cul-de-sac, where Jaurequi lives. The suspect spotted the dog and,


with a golf club in hand, positioned himself next to it, Rodriguez said. “Without reason or cause, the


male swung the club against the Chihuahua as if driving a golf ball off its tee,” the sergeant alleged. “The force of the swing sent the animal flying through the air. The suspect was preparing for a sec-


Hall of Justice. According to Riverside County


sheriff’s Sgt. Todd Torrenti, the defendant called 911 shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday saying he had shot a woman. Deputies rushed to Starkey’s house at 25773 Bundy Canyon Road and detained the allegedly drunken man in front of his residence. Torrenti said that when depu-


ties walked into the house, they found the victim suffering from a single gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene.


ond swing when he was stopped by people that just witnessed his acts.”


Hitchman told ABC7 that she


went looking for Lilly immedi- ately after the dog wandered off her property. She discovered her pet lying on the pavement of the cul-de-sac, where witnesses told her what had just occurred, leading the woman to confront Jaurequi. “I told him, ‘You’re insane.


You’re psycho. You need to be locked away,’” Hitchman said. “He said, ‘Your dog shouldn’t be loose anyway.’” Hitchman took the severely


injured Chihuahua to a veterinary clinic, where she died from her injuries.


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Student arrested for assault, threats made LAKE ELSINORE – On Mon-


day, Jan. 30, at about 1 p.m., the school resource officer from the Lake Elsinore Police Department assigned to Lakeside High School responded to an assault that oc- curred on campus. Further investigation revealed


that 18-year-old Ricardo Espinoza threatened to do great bodily injury to another student if this student did


not apologize to a female student. Espinoza was arrested and


booked into the Southwest De- tention Center for assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a knife on school grounds, and ter- rorist threats. Anyone with additional informa-


tion regarding this incident is asked to call the Lake Elsinore Police Department at (951) 245-3300.


Man arrested for sex abuse of minor, other charges


SAN JACINTO – In December


of 2011, investigators from the San Jacinto Police Department began an investigation into allegations of continuous sex abuse of a minor who was under the age of 14. The victim reported incidents of


sexual abuse which occurred over a seven-month period in 2010. Following the victim’s report, the investigators were unable to locate the suspect, 33-year-old Michael Mroczko, who was known to the victim and her family.


On Jan. 27, investigators lo-


cated suspect Michael Mroczko living at a residence in the city of Riverside. He was arrested for several sexu-


ally related crimes that occurred during his continuous abuse. He was later transported to the Larry Smith Correctional Facility. The San Jacinto Police are asking


anyone who has any information about this incident to contact the San Jacinto Police Department at (951) 654-2702.


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