Last Updated on January 20, 2023 by C-CAR
The man who authorities say was drunk and crashed head-on into an off-duty Riverside County sheriff’s correctional deputy, killing him and his daughter, has been charged with murder.
Scott Brandon Bales, 47, of Moreno Valley, was due to enter pleas on Thursday, Nov. 17, to two counts of second-degree murder and one count of driving under the influence causing great bodily injury. His hearing in Superior Court in Banning was postponed to Nov. 28.
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office filed the charges on Wednesday.
Cpl. Daniel Jacks Jr., 45, of San Jacinto, and 19-year-old Hannah Jacks were traveling east on Gilman Springs Road east of Bridge Street near San Jacinto at about 9 p.m. Sunday when Bales, driving west, crossed over two sets of double yellow lines, striking Daniel Jacks’ Honda Insight, the California Highway Patrol said.
Jacks and his passenger, identified in the criminal complaint as victim Pacak Radek, were hospitalized and survived.
Bales has not been licensed to drive in California since 2005, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. His license expired in 2005, and then it was revoked on March 30, 2015, the day Bales pleaded guilty in Superior Court in Orange County to felony DUI with three or more priors.
He has a total of four DUI convictions and has been convicted of driving on a suspended or revoked license at least three times, court records show.
