Man Accused Of Killing 3 Boys In Temescal Valley Ordered To Trial

TEMESCAL VALLEY, CA — A Corona-area man accused of chasing down and ramming a car occupied by six teenagers, causing the vehicle to crash and kill half of the boys exactly one year ago Tuesday, must stand trial on three counts of murder and other charges, a judge ruled.

Anurag Chandra, 43, allegedly went in pursuit of the teens after they pulled a prank at his home on Modjeska Summit Road in the Temescal Valley.

Following a preliminary hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Charles Koosed found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on the murder counts, as well as three counts of attempted murder.

He scheduled a Feb. 2 post-preliminary hearing arraignment for the defendant, who's being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

Chandra is charged with killing Daniel Hawkins, Jacob Ivascu and Drake Ruiz — all 16 — on Jan. 19, 2020. Ivascu was from Riverside; the other two from Corona.

A 13-year-old boy, 14-year-old boy, and an 18-year-old man who was at the wheel of the car that was struck, suffered moderate to major injuries and were taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar for treatment.

According to California Highway Patrol investigators and prosecutors, the boys were having a Sunday night sleepover at one of their homes and decided to try a "doorbell ditch" prank in the neighborhood, which is just south of Corona.

Shortly after 10 p.m., five of them piled into a Toyota Prius parked on Modjeska Summit, while another went to Chandra's residence and rang the bell several times, investigators said. The youth then ran to the Prius, which raced away from the location.

According to a District Attorney's Office statement, Chandra "chased after the Prius in his 2019 Infinity Q50."

CHP Officer Juan Quintero said Chandra bore down on the Prius at high speed along Temescal Canyon Road, approaching Squaw Mountain Road. The lawman alleged that the defendant rammed the Prius, causing it to spin out of control and slam into a tree on the side of the road.

Family members told reporters that the boys were fleeing out of fear and were trying to avoid a confrontation with Chandra. There was no prior dispute between the teens and the defendant, according to prosecutors.

Witnesses followed Chandra back to his residence and alerted CHP officers, who arrested him roughly four hours after the collision.

He has no documented prior felony convictions, but along with the murder charges, he has an unresolved misdemeanor case for alleged battery on a cohabitant, along with child endangerment.