A preliminary hearing has been set for July 24 for the Sacramento man accused of shooting three people inside a vehicle on Interstate 5 before taking officers on a high speed pursuit to Yolo County.
Royer Delgado, 31, pleaded not guilty in Colusa County Superior Court on Monday to three charges of attempted murder with three special allegations of personal and intentional discharge of a firearm.
The incident on I-5 that left three people with serious injuries occurred around 5:37 PM on June 29.
The California Highway Patrol said Delgado was a passenger in a vehicle traveling southbound around Delevan Road when they received a 911 call from one of the victims claiming to have been shot.
The vehicle had stopped on the side of the freeway and two of the victims got out, the CHP said. Delgado then moved into the driver’s seat and fled southbound, although one of the victims was able to give law enforcement a description of the vehicle.
Officers from the Williams CHP spotted and attempted to stop the vehicle a short time later while it was still in Colusa County, but Delgado reportedly did not yield and engaged the officers in a vehicle pursuit.
About 10 minutes later, Woodland Area CHP officers deployed a spike strip just south of the Dunnigan Rest Area, which caused the disabled vehicle to come to a stop.
The CHP said Delgado tried to flee on foot but was quickly captured, arrested, and returned to Colusa County, where he was booked on felony charges.
The third shooting victim was found inside the vehicle with life-threatening injuries, the CHP said.
Delgado has a history of violence, court records indicate.
At age 18, Delgado was convicted in San Joaquin County Superior Court in connection to intentionally striking a 16-year-old bicyclist with his car, reportedly dragging him more than 400 feet.
In 2018, at age 25, Delgado was convicted in Sacramento County Superior Court in connection to a stabbing, which left a 21-year-old with non-life threatening wounds.
According to news reports at the time, Delgado fled the scene in a vehicle and led police on a short pursuit, before ditching the car and unsuccessfully trying to carjack another.
After fleeing on foot, he allegedly entered an occupied home and engaged the police in a one-hour standoff.
Delgado was eventually captured inside a bedroom and arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, and other charges. Three children inside the home had escaped from a window at the coaxing of law enforcement, news reports stated.
Delgado is represented by Public Defender Albert Smith in the Colusa County shooting case.
Special Prosecutor Matthew Beauchamp, of the Colusa County District Attorney’s Office, asked the judge Monday for the preliminary hearing, set for 10 AM, to be held in accordance with the 14-day rule.
Beauchamp need only provide enough evidence at the hearing for the judge to decide that Delgado is likely guilty of the crime and that the case should move forward to trial. â–