California Stabbing Incident Involves Illegal Immigrant
An illegal immigrant from India, accused of a fatal stabbing in California, entered a plea of not guilty on Tuesday to a lesser charge. This change came after blood tests confirmed he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the incident.
Jashanpreet Singh, 21, faces accusations linked to an eight-vehicle crash on the westbound 10 Freeway in San Bernardino County last month, which resulted in the deaths of three individuals and injured four others.
In his appearance at the San Bernardino County Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga, Singh was dressed in orange prison scrubs and was shackled. Interestingly, he was not wearing the Sikh turban he had requested.
Now, Singh is charged with grossly negligent vehicular death.
Initially, authorities suggested that Singh had been under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash while he was operating a semi-truck slowly. However, prosecutors later announced that tests indicated no drugs or alcohol were found in his system.
Currently, Singh is confronting three charges of gross negligence and reckless driving that led to death by vehicular negligence. Previous charges related to vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence were dropped, according to the amended criminal complaint.
With the more serious charges, Singh could have faced up to 17 years in prison, but now a maximum sentence of 10 years is possible if he is convicted.
The judge denied Singh’s request for bail and scheduled another hearing for Thursday. During this upcoming appearance, there may be a motion concerning permission for him to wear his religious headgear in court.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has asked local law enforcement to inform them prior to Singh’s release, as he’s believed to have entered the U.S. illegally through the southern border in 2022, following clearance by the Biden administration.
Dashcam footage of the crash depicted the red tractor-trailer colliding with multiple cars, leading to significant damage before hitting another vehicle. The multi-vehicle incident involved at least eight cars and caused all westbound lanes to be closed for several hours during the investigation.
Not long after the crash, the Department of Transportation issued a report suggesting that California Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration may have illegally upgraded Singh’s license. This upgrade came shortly after a law was passed banning undocumented immigrants from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses.
The law took effect on September 26, yet Singh’s driving privileges were upgraded on October 15, according to the report.
The victims of the crash have been identified as Clarence and Lisa Nelson, aged 76 and 69, respectively, alongside 54-year-old Jaime Flores Garcia from Upland.
Recently, two Republican lawmakers, Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Andy Barr, called for an investigation into the CDL authorization program following Singh’s crash and another incident involving Harjinder Singh, an immigrant who allegedly made an illegal maneuver in Florida, resulting in three fatalities.
Harjinder Singh, who was driving on a California CDL, is also facing charges for vehicular homicide and immigration violations for allegedly entering the U.S. illegally in 2018.
