Felony Charges Filed Against Probationer Who Allegedly Pummeled Girlfriend in Murrieta

MURRIETA, CA - A 28-year-old probationer accused of severely beating his girlfriend during an argument at a Murrieta home was charged Tuesday with assault and other felony counts.

Olonzo Frederick Benn, who was arrested in the predawn hours Thursday, is charged with one count each of assault likely to produce great bodily injury, domestic abuse, false imprisonment and malicious vandalism, with sentence-enhancing allegations of inflicting serious injuries during an act of domestic violence.

He was slated to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon at the Southwest Justice Center.

According to Murrieta police Sgt. Phil Gomez, officers were called to the defendant's house in the 26000 block of Paddington Court, near Kingwood Road, about 2:30 a.m. Thursday to investigate reports of a woman in distress.

When officers arrived, they found the 6-foot-7, 300-pound Benn and the victim, whose identity was not released, in a bedroom. The woman "had multiple injuries to her face, arms, neck and torso," the sergeant said.

She was transported to an inland trauma center for treatment and was released hours later.

Benn was taken into custody without incident. He's being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Southwest Detention Center, but a bail reduction is expected because he was not charged with attempted murder -- the charge on which he was arrested.

According to court records, Benn has a prior misdemeanor conviction for driving under the influence and was sentenced to 36 months probation in November 2014.

– By City News Service.