Murder defendant to face trial

BRAWLEY – A county Superior Court Judge on Monday held over for trial the 28-year-old Brawley man accused of fatally shooting a man and injuring another on May 30 at a Brawley gas station.

The ruling was preceded by the defendant, Eduardo Tolentino Jr., waiving his rights to have a preliminary examination determine whether enough probable cause existed to have him to face trial.

In place of a hearing establishing any probable cause, county Judge Marco Nuñez bound Tolentino over for trial in connection to the information, or formal criminal charge.

The county District Attorney’s Office also indicated on Monday that it had filed two additional charges against Tolentino, and dismissed a charge alleging a violation of his post-release community supervision.

In addition to Tolentino’s original charge of murder, he now is also facing charges of shooting into an inhabited vehicle and willful child endangerment, both felonies.

Tolentino is alleged to have fatally shot 24-year-old Brawley resident Daniel Hernandez Jr. on May 30 at the Fillco Gas Station in the 900 block of Main Street.

The willful child endangerment charge Tolentino now faces stems from a 17-yearold individual having been in the vehicle at the time of the alleged shooting and sustaining a slight wound from a bullet hitting their cell phone, said county Senior Deputy District Attorney Heather Trapnell.

Tolentino is scheduled to be back in court on Aug. 27 in El Centro for his arraignment.

He is also facing sentencing enhancements in connection to the state’s Three Strikes Law as a result of a 2012 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, local court records stated.

More recently, Tolentino was convicted in late 2015 for corporal injury to a cohabitant with grave injury, and was sentenced to two years in state prison, court records stated.

Several hours after the 5:30 p.m. May 30 shooting, the Brawley Police Department had distributed a press release identifying Tolentino as the prime suspect and alerting the public that he remained at large and armed and dangerous.

Tolentino was subsequently arrested June 1 by El Centro police while he was reportedly walking in the area of Fourth and Main streets.

He was allegedly armed at the time of his arrest, the Brawley Police Department had reported.

He remains in custody without bail.