Felon Charged with Accidentally Shooting, Killing Hemet Woman Arraigned
Felon Charged with Accidentally Shooting, Killing Hemet Woman Arraigned
by Contributing Editor
A convicted felon whose alleged mishandling of a firearm while under the influence of drugs caused it to discharge and fatally wound a 75-year-old Hemet woman pleaded not guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter and other charges.
John Reza Jowkar, 37, of Hemet was arrested Friday after allegedly accidentally shooting Janice L. Graves at her residence in the 700 block of Via Linda Drive.
Along with the manslaughter count, Jowkar is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, being under the influence of methamphetamine and heroin while in possession of a loaded gun and possession of methamphetamine.
Jowkar was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Hollenhorst, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Oct. 26 at the Banning Justice Center.
Jowkar is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
According to Hemet police Lt. Michael Arellano, about 1:30 p.m. Friday, patrol officers were called to the Via Linda home to investigate reports of “an elderly female suffering from a single gunshot wound.”
Officers and paramedics reached the location about the same time and found Graves critically wounded. She was taken to Hemet Valley Hospital, where she died a short time later.
Arellano said Jowkar was taken into custody without incident at the property and interviewed by detectives. Jowkar identified himself as the victim’s caregiver.
“Investigators learned that Jowkar was in the garage, manipulating and disassembling several … firearms,” Arellano said. “One of those firearms inadvertently discharged and struck the elderly female victim.”
The gun was identified in court documents as a 9mm semiautomatic pistol.
No other details were released, including how long Jowkar had been a caregiver for Graves.
According to court records, Jowkar’s prior felony offenses were committed in another jurisdiction. They were not specified.
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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com
