Wicks Brewery's Ryan Wicks is charged with murder
A man described as the co-owner of a Riverside brewery has been charged with murder after authorities said he drove drunk and caused a collision in Ontario that killed an Oceanside resident.
Ryan Cavender Wicks, 39, who the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said owns Wicks Brewing in Riverside with his father, was also charged with driving under the influence and causing injury. He posted $1.1 million bail and pleaded not guilty to both charges. He is next due in court June 6. His attorney, Donald J. Bartell, declined to comment.
Wicks was convicted of DUI in San Bernardino County in 2005 and signed a so-called Watson advisement in which he was warned that drunken driving can injure or kill people and that the advisement could be used against him in court, said DA’s spokeswoman Jacquelyn Rodriguez. That and other factors prompted the DA to file the murder charge, she said.
The adult children of the crash victim, Gary Boeldt II, 52, have sued Wicks and the brewery
restaurant, alleging wage loss, property damage and pain and suffering, among other damages. The lawsuit asserts that Wicks Brewing Co. served alcohol to Wicks immediately before the crash.
The attorney representing the brewery in the lawsuit, Brian C. Pearcy, did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Bryan Boeldt, 26, described his father as a devout and forgiving person.
“If the roles had been reversed and one of his children had been taken, he would want justice to be served, and when justice was served, he would try and do whatever he could to help that person who was troubled in their life,” Boeldt said.
The collision happened just before 1 a.m. on March 31 on the northbound 15 Freeway near Jurupa Avenue, the California Highway Patrol said. Gary Boeldt was driving about 70 mph in the left lane when Wicks struck his car from behind “in excess of 100 mph,” a CHP news release said. Boeldt’s car went down an embankment and overturned. He was killed, and his wife, Christine Carroll, was injured.
Boeldt and Carroll were headed to Lake Tahoe to commemorate their oneyear anniversary, his son said.
Boeldt had a lot to celebrate. Years ago, he hurt his back playing golf and wound up addicted to painkillers. The dependence cost him his wife, his home and his business, Bryan Boeldt said. But his father moved to Las Vegas and with the help of the Salvation Army, turned his life around. He went to work at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipbuilding yard in San Diego as a forklift operator and was promoted to supervisor a year later.
“He would tell us all the time he wanted to (recover) for himself but also for his kids,” Bryan Boeldt said.
Gary Boeldt also had two daughters, ages 18 and 29. He largely financially supported the youngest, his son said.
Wicks previously had more positive interactions with law enforcement.
In 2014, on the one-year anniversary of the shooting deaths of Riverside police Officer Mike Crain and San Bernardino County sheriff’s Detective Jeremiah MacKay by fugitive Christopher Dorner, Wicks collaborated on beers to honor the officers: “Sheepdog,” a red ale for MacKay, and “Freight Crain,” a chocolate malt stout. The brewery also assisted on a car show to benefit their families.
Wicks has been described in Press-Enterprise stories as the brewery’s coowner, along with his father, Brad. Ryan Wicks and Brad Wicks are listed as “manager” in separate forms filed with the California Secretary of State’s office. But the brewery unequivocally states that Ryan Wicks is not the owner.
A sign on the door of the brewery on Sterling Avenue reads, “All false/defamatory statements being made, published or republished indicating that this business is owned by Ryan Wicks that causes monetary or reputational harm to the business or its owners will be vigorously pursued. The management.”
No one at the brewery would offer any clarification.