A Bay Area man who was shot by California Highway Patrol officers after allegedly firing a gun during a foot pursuit near Blythe re-entered a not guilty plea Friday to attempted murder charges and is due back in court in late September.
Hakim Price Oden, 21, was arrested on March 26, 2019, and faces 38 years to life in prison if convicted of two counts of attempted murder on a peace officer, with sentence-enhancing allegations of using a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to prosecutors.
In a preliminary hearing last month at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Dale R. Wells ruled that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for the defendant to proceed to trial.
According to Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Wallace Clear, local law enforcement officers had been on the lookout for Oden in connection with a San Francisco area assault. About 2:45 a.m. on the day of his arrest, a pair of CHP officers located an unattended vehicle matching one associated with Oden on the shoulder of Interstate 10, east of Corn Springs Road.
Soon after, the CHP received reports of a man — later identified as Oden — attempting to flag down motorists not far from the abandoned vehicle, Clear said. After spotting him on the highway shoulder, the two CHP officers attempted to make contact before Oden ran away, according to the sergeant.
During the ensuing foot chase, Clear said an “off-involved shooting occurred,” but additional information was not released by sheriff’s officials. The criminal complaint filed by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office alleges Oden fired a gun at the officers before being wounded.
Oden was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries described as minor. The officers were unhurt.
The defendant remains in custody at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta in lieu of $2.2 million bail, and is scheduled to return to court for a trial-readiness conference on Sept. 29.
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