The Twentynine Palms Marine accused of killing a prominent dentist and his wife in a DUI crash in May will be formally arraigned next week. In the second day of preliminary hearings in a San Bernardino courtroom, Judge Katrina West heard four additional prosecution witnesses and one defense witness testify about the events of May 17, and decided there was enough evidence to hold Mariah Natividad over for trial. Natividad, 22, a lance corporal with the Exercise Support Division on the Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, is accused of driving under the influence and rear ending a pick up truck on Highway 62 just east of Juniper Road in Joshua Tree. The impact sent the truck into the desert where it rolled over several times. Inside the truck were Dr. Lonnie Tiner, 80, and his wife, Patricia, 75. The Tiners died 10 minutes apart the next day at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. Natividad’s arraignment is set for September 22, and she will be charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter, two counts of DUI, and hit-and-run resulting in death. The judge denied a defense request that Mariah Natividad be released on her own recognizance, and her bail remains set at $250,000.
MARINE HELD FOR TRIAL FOR DOUBLE FATAL DUI HIT AND RUN
