A convicted felon accused of taking shots at a passing car occupied by a Moreno Valley family was ordered Thursday to stand trial for attempted murder and other offenses.
Pierre Lamar Drew, 33, of Moreno Valley, was arrested in March after the shooting in the 22400 block of Alessandro Boulevard, near Elsworth Street.
At the end of a preliminary hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Ronald Taylor found there was sufficient evidence to try Drew on five counts of attempted murder, as well as one count each of shooting at an occupied vehicle and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, with sentence-enhancing gun use allegations.
Taylor scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Sept. 14 and left the defendant’s bail set at $1 million. Drew is being held at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Brandi Swan, about 10:30 p.m. March 6, motorists alerted deputies to a man armed with a gun, standing in the middle of Alessandro.
A patrol deputy arrived moments later and spotted Drew allegedly “firing a handgun eastbound toward passing vehicles,” Swan said.
“As a vehicle containing a family of five passed by the suspect, he fired numerous rounds at the vehicle, striking it at least once,” the sergeant said. “The rear window of the victims’ vehicle was shattered as a result of the gunfire.”
The deputy immediately confronted Drew and ordered him to surrender, which he did, dropping his pistol.
No one in the vehicle was injured, but “a bullet was located inside … in very close proximity to the victims,” Swan said.
According to court records, Drew has prior convictions for possession of controlled substances and possession of marijuana for sale. He also has an unresolved case pending for allegedly being in possession of an assault weapon.
The defendant was on bond for that alleged offense when he was taken into custody in connection with the shooting.
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