Lance Touchstone and attorney at arraignment, Aug. 16, 2016. Screen capture from CBS8.
More details have emerged about the shooting that involved roommates on Ebers Street Monday, August 8th.
The man arrested for the shooting, Lance Touchstone, 40, a resident of Petaluma in northern California pleaded not guilty Tuesday, August 16, to the charges leveled against him: attempted murder and discharging a firearm.
Touchstone’s charges stem from the shooting of the boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend) of his sister Becky, one Jeff Renteria, 30 at their home on the 2100 block of Ebers Street.
Renteria was shot 3 three times and was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries – to his right side with at least one to his abdomen.
According to CBS8, the shooting occurred during some kind of argument or dispute between Becky Touchstone and Renteria, and reported that the prosecutor told the judge that Touchstone had come from northern California to visit his sister about a week before the shooting.
Deputy DA Makenzie Harvey told Judge Frederick Maguire that Becky and Renteria “got into an argument, and he left her home,” but after she called him, he returned.
When Renteria entered the home, Touchstone and his sister were sitting on the couch, and the defendant [Touchstone] fired at the victim [Renteria] three times with a 9mm handgun, causing injuries to his liver, kidneys and arms, the prosecutor alleged.
At an arraignment, both sides get to argue to the judge and explain their side of the case. For Touchstone, his defense attorney Jim Fitzpatrick told Judge Maquire that Renteria “had drug issues and lived in a nearby garage”. Fitzpatrick also asserted that Renteria “had engaged in previous acts of violence against Touchstone’s sister, [Becky] and that she and Renteria had already broken up.”
Becky kept guns in her home, Fitzpatrick said, and that she and Touchstone think that Renteria had stolen them. Then when Renteria came back to the house, Fitzpatrick explained to the judge, Becky and Touchstone “begged him not to come in, but he did so anyway”. Summarizing, the attorney stated that the case was one that involved “legitimate self-defense” and was not some random shooting.
Touchstone had been out on $50,000 bail, but the judge raised it to $250,000, and he was taken back into custody. Touchstone has an Aug. 25 readiness conference and a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 29th. He faces 19 years in prison if convicted. CBS8
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Their defense sounds about right for a couple of numbskulls.
LMAO
i reckon i dun went to high school with him and for the record the use of the word “reckon” and “dun” was a joke.I possess prolific grammatical skills. my apologies for the pontificating, i just like how heavily opinionated everyone is. you can’t even comment with your own words and feelings anymore…… it gets omitted. why even have the comment box? and which uptight asshole gets to play god on what comments are ” appropriate” lol….. would love to make the money he or she makes.