Felon Accused Of Severely Beating Banning Man With Baseball Bat Arraigned

BANNING, CA — A convicted felon accused of nearly killing a Banning man by beating him over the head with a baseball bat will ask a judge later this month to lower his bail so he can get out of jail.

Jaime Estaban Luis, 34, of Banning was arrested Sunday following a Banning Police Department investigation.

Luis is charged with first-degree attempted murder, as well as sentence-enhancing allegations of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony and inflicting great bodily injury.

He pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Wednesday before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Kams ordered the defendant held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.

Luis' public defender submitted a motion requesting a bail reduction hearing, which the judge scheduled for June 22 at the Banning Justice Center.

According to Banning police Corporal Eric Campa, shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday, there was an unspecified dispute between the defendant and another man, whose identity was not disclosed, outside an apartment building in the 500 block of West Ramsey Street, near North Fourth Street, less than a block from Interstate 10.

Campa alleged Luis was armed with a baseball bat and "struck the victim about the head," leaving him "lying on the ground and bleeding from his face."

The defendant then went into an apartment, according to the police spokesman.

He said patrol officers arrived within a couple of minutes and encountered witnesses who recounted the alleged attack, pointing out where Luis went.

The victim was taken to a regional trauma center in critical condition and remained hospitalized Thursday.

Officers procured a search warrant for Luis' apartment, serving it on him at 9 p.m. Sunday, when he was taken into custody without incident.