Man Accused Of Following, Accosting SWR Kids To Stand Trial

MURRIETA, CA — A man accused of following and harassing school children at a Temecula park must stand trial on felony and misdemeanor charges, a judge ruled Thursday.

Adam Paul Baumgartel, 26, was arrested earlier this month after a Riverside County sheriff's investigation centered at Kent Hintergardt Park, adjacent to Stanley Gardner Middle School.

During a preliminary hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, three witnesses called by the prosecution testified that they allegedly saw Baumgartel shadowing and trying to get the attention of youths walking through the park.

At the end of the hearing, Superior Court Judge John Monterosso ruled there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on one count each of stalking and loitering. The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for June 14.

Deputy Public Defender Ryan Ahern submitted a motion seeking to have Baumgartel's bail reduced, but Monterosso denied the request.

The defendant remains held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center.

According to sheriff's Sgt. Joseph Greco, shortly before 3 p.m. on May 11, deputies were called to the park to investigate reports of a man trailing and accosting youths leaving school and walking through the area.

Witnesses provided a description of the alleged stalker, later identified as Baumgartel, but he was not immediately found, Greco said.

He said deputies fanned out to scour the neighborhood, and when they reached the 32000 block of Cam San Jose, near Via Saltio, directly across from Red Hawk Elementary School, they spotted the defendant, who was detained without a struggle.

Baumgartel was positively identified by witnesses, after which he was questioned by detectives and booked into jail a few hours later, Greco said, adding that the defendant may have been involved in an earlier child annoyance incident that's still under investigation.

Baumgartel has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

— By City News Service / Image via Riverside County Sheriff's Department