Alleged Road Rage Assailant and Wife Charged in I-15 Bat Assault

A Grand Terrace man accused of beating a couple with a baseball bat during a road rage confrontation on Interstate 15 in Murrieta was charged Thursday with attempted murder, and his wife was charged with being an accessory.

Gabriel Elijah Bowker, 20, and Guadalupe Jasmin Bowker-Cadena, 29, of Fontana, were arrested Tuesday in connection with the attack that occurred the night before on northbound I-15, near Clinton Keith Road.

Along with two counts of attempted murder, Bowker is charged with sentence-enhancing allegations of inflicting great bodily injury and using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony. His spouse is charged with being an accessory to a felony.

Both are slated to make initial court appearances Thursday afternoon at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta. They are each being held in lieu of $1 million bail -- Bowker at the Southwest Detention Center and Bowker-Cadena at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside. Her bail is expected to be reduced to $5,000.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the assault happened shortly before 7 p.m. Monday when the victims, a Lake Elsinore couple whose names were withheld, and the defendants pulled to the shoulder of the 15 while engaged in a dispute. What triggered it remained unclear.

Bowker allegedly used a baseball bat to strike the victims multiple times, leaving both with major injuries, said CHP Officer Mike Lassig, adding that the couple’s children were in the car at the time but were not harmed.

Passing motorists called 911, and officers arrived moments later, but the defendants had already fled in their white Honda Civic, Lassig said. However, Bowker and his wife surrendered to authorities about six hours later.

The injured couple were transported to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar for treatment. Lassig told City News Service that an update on their conditions was expected later Thursday.

– By City News Service.