Police arrested a man on Monday for driving an SUV that assaulted a 21-year-old woman marching during the “King No” protests in Riverside. She is still in critical condition.
Riverside Police Department said Tuesday that Russell Prentice, 58, was arrested and crashed into a car for alleged attack with a deadly weapon. He was booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
Candy Wenzel was also arrested. The 39-year-old riverside woman was accused of playing a role in bringing the SUV to the remote unfounded Philan area of the Mojave Desert, “deliberately destroying and hiding evidence”, the police department said.
Prentice is accused of fleeing the black SUV, paraded along University Avenue to a group of protesters, marching between Orange and the main streets, and strikes around 9:10 p.m. Saturday. Police have not identified the victim yet, but a person who claimed to be a friend and created the GoFundMe page identified the woman as Alexa Carrasco.
“She was taken to the hospital” and is in intensive care,” wrote a friend Leslie Hernandez. Carrasco was in critical condition in the intensive care unit but stable, she told the Times on Monday.
Carrasco’s friends told KCAL-TV that she suffered a severe skull injury and a ruptured rib, punctured lungs and leg fractures.
Russell Prentice was detained after being sent by people to Riverside Police.
(Riverside Police Department)
After the police issued a plead to the community to identify and find the suspect, the police were able to find the license plate number of the SUV. Police said detectives could identify the suspect and were arrested in Riverside.
Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez expressed his gratitude to the people for the prompts sent to the police. “We thank them for the information,” the person in charge said in a statement.
Anyone who requests other information about the impact will ask for contact with Riverside Police Det. Mike Smith, phone: mikesmith@riversideca.gov or (951) 353-7103 or Det. NIC CANTINO, phone: ncantino@riversideca.gov or (951) 353-7104.
Ruben Vives, a staff member of the era, contributed to the report.
