Last Updated on August 21, 2019 by CCAR Staff
A man with a previous conviction for reckless driving was found guilty of second-degree murder Tuesday, Aug. 20, for a 2017 traffic collision that killed a motorcyclist in Lake Elsinore.
A jury convicted Robert Alexander Covington, 28, in Superior Court in Riverside. Covington is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 8, according to Superior Court records.
Jesus Salazar, 26, of Perris, died in the Sept. 1, 2017, collision.
The collision between a black Honda and a motorcycle was reported at 6:56 p.m. on the 15 Freeway. Witnesses told the California Highway Patrol that someone ran from the Honda and climbed over a wall. Covington was arrested near Central Avenue on suspicion of murder, gross vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run causing death, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and misdemeanor drug possession.
A single charge of second-degree murder was filed.
In 2012, Covington was charged with driving under the influence. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and was sentenced to two days in jail and ordered to complete a first-offender DUI program. Second-degree murder charges can be filed in cases in which a driver who caused a fatal collision while under the influence had a previous DUI-related conviction and had been warned about the consequences of driving while impaired.
