Hit-and-run driver gets 4 years in prison after killing woman in Moreno Valley

Last Updated on July 15, 2019 by CCAR Staff

A convicted felon who admitted to causing the hit-and-run death of a 36-year-old pedestrian in a Moreno Valley intersection last year has been handed a four-year prison term.

Phillip Jermaine Jones, 63, pleaded guilty in May to a felony charge of hit-and-run resulting in death and was sentenced Friday at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

The victim, Amber Alvarez of Moreno Valley, was struck the evening of Nov. 26 while crossing the intersection of Cottonwood Avenue and the Old 215 Frontage Road.

Deputies arrived moments after the hit-and-run and found the victim lying in the street, unconscious. She was taken to Riverside University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Investigators, relying on eyewitness descriptions and other evidence collected at the scene, quickly identified the hit-and-run driver as Jones, who was found in the area within an hour and arrested, sheriff’s Sgt. Gil Gonzalez said.

Jones had also faced a misdemeanor charge of being an unlicensed operator of a motor vehicle, but that count was dropped as part of his plea.

According to court records, he has prior convictions for assault with a deadly weapon, forgery and driving on a suspended license.