Man Accused of Fatally Shooting Shopper During Mall Robbery Arraigned

BANNING (CNS) – A young man accused with a cohort of gunning down a 66- year-old shopper at the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon during a holdup pleaded not guilty today to murder and other charges. Reginald Charles Trice, 18, of Victorville was arrested in April following a nearly monthlong investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department into the slaying of Michael Moser of Palm Springs. Along with murder, Trice is charged with illegal possession of a firearm, a special circumstance allegation of killing in the course of a robbery, and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations. He was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Singerton, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for June 24 at the Banning Justice Center and ordered that the defendant be held without bail at the Benoit Detention Center in Indio. Trice was previously held in lieu of $1 million bail. On April 29, the District Attorney’s Office filed an amended criminal complaint naming two additional men — Elijah Ray Burt and Emanuel Rick Burt, both 19 — as co-defendants. The pair are evidently brothers. Elijah Burt is charged with first-degree murder, a special circumstance allegation of killing during a robbery, as well as sentence- enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations. Emanuel Burt is charged only with robbery. There are arrest warrants pending for both. The defendants’ current whereabouts were unclear. According to sheriff’s Sgt. Ben Ramirez, Trice allegedly confronted Moser shortly before 7 p.m. on March 24 in the 48600 block of Seminole Drive, though the specific location within the mall wasn’t disclosed. Ramirez said Moser was shot at least once, prompting calls to 911, after which deputies and paramedics converged on the location. Life-saving measures were tried, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. It was unclear why Moser was targeted, and investigators did not disclose whether he put up a struggle during the robbery. There was no sign of the defendants when deputies reached the mall. However, Ramirez said over the ensuing weeks, detectives developed leads pointing to Trice as one of the alleged assailants. A warrant was obtained and served at his residence in the 15500 block of Morada Road on April 21, according to the sheriff’s spokesman. He was taken into custody without incident. Trice has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County, nor do Elijah and Emanuel Burt. Copyright 2022, City News Service, Inc. CNS-05-09-2022 15:34