The Yucca Valley man accused of shooting another Yucca Valley man and of shooting at Morongo Basin Sheriff’s deputies during a pursuit October 17, all while recording the pursuit live on Facebook, pleaded not guilty in a Joshua Tree courtroom Tuesday. Roger Tindell, 36, is accused of shooting Jonathan Lakes in the head in the 7400 block of Elk Trail in Yucca Valley about 2 a.m. on October 17, and then fleeing with a pregnant woman in a silver BMW. Lakes was taken to a hospital and his condition is unknown. Deputies located Tindell’s car driving westbound on Highway 62 and began a pursuit. During a six-minute video Tindell recorded during the pursuit, he refers to the pregnant woman in the car with him as his “hostage,” but then later calls her “babe” and says he loves her, while she can be heard saying she will have to raise their baby alone. Six gunshots can also be heard during the video. The pursuit ended when Tindell crashed into a Sheriff’s patrol car in Morongo Valley. After Sheriff’s deputies arrested Tindell, they learned he was wanted by an FBI task force for the murders of Robin McComb, 40, and Mellisa Mason, 28, in Henderson, Nevada. On October 12, Henderson police made a welfare check on their home and found the couple dead inside from blunt force trauma to the head. Roger Tindell pleaded not guilty Tuesday to nine counts of attempted murder, eight of which are against a police officer, along with discharging a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon, and felony evading. Judge Rodney Cortez set his bail at $7 million.
MAN WANTED IN NEVADA MURDERS WHO SHOT AT LOCAL DEPUTIES PLEADS NOT GUILTY
