Desert Hot Springs man convicted of fatally shooting wife

A Desert Hot Springs man was convicted today of fatally shooting his wife of three years in their home and endangering their children, who were all under 4 years old.

James Daniel Fidler III, 34, was found guilty of second-degree murder and four counts of child endangerment, according to Riverside County District Attorney's office spokesman John Hall. He could face seven years and six months plus 40 years to life.

Fidler is set to be sentenced April 26 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

The charges stem from the May 6, 2015, shooting death of his wife, 19-year-old Janette Reyes, with whom he shared three kids aged between 6 months and 3 years old at the time.

Fidler remains held at the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio on $3 million bail, according to inmate records.   

Deputy District Attorney Samantha Paixao and Fidler's defense attorney Ryan G. Markson delivered their closing arguments Thursday and jurors began deliberating immediately after, according to Hall. They reached a verdict by Tuesday morning.

Authorities said the shooting happened about 2 a.m. at the couple's home in the 16100 block of Via Quedo, in an unincorporated area just south of Desert Hot Springs.

Fidler ran two doors from his home to the residence of the victim's uncle and asked him for help because his wife had been shot, according to a trial brief filed by prosecutors. They then drove back to the defendant's home, put Reyes into a gold Acura, and drove her to Desert Regional Medical Center.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they found the car unattended in front of the emergency room entrance with the engine still running and both front doors open, prosecutors wrote. Fidler ran to the doors yelling for help, but when nurses questioned him about what happened, he ran off.  

Reyes sustained a gunshot wound to the back of her head and was placed on life support once she arrived at the hospital because she had no brain activity and could not breathe on her own, according to prosecutors. She was pronounced dead at 9:45 p.m. May 11, 2015.

After leaving his wife at the hospital, Fidler called his mother, asked her to pick him up, and told her that he had shot Reyes, prosecutors wrote. His mother drove the defendant to say goodbye to his family and then took him to the Palm Desert sheriff's station to turn him in.

While still in the car, Fidler received a call from his brother who told him that his wife had died, though she was actually still alive at that moment, and the defendant jumped out of the car and fled on foot, according to prosecutors. After a six-hour manhunt and call to the defendant's family, he was taken back into the station.   

When deputies searched the scene, they found an audio recorder in the bedroom that had captured audio from the night of the shooting, during which the defendant was heard talking to the victim as though he believed she was having an affair, prosecutors wrote. Fidler asked her what she was doing and after she said "I'm just sitting here," the defendant shot her.

Deputies also found a phone that had videos displaying a history of domestic sexual abuse against Reyes, according to the brief.   

Fidler was previously convicted in 2010 and 2011 of domestic violence against his previous partner.

According to preliminary hearing testimony, Fidler was at a barbecue that began the previous day with friends and relatives to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. During the get-together, Fidler injected methamphetamine, the defendant's grandmother testified. She added that Fidler told her by phone he believed he saw Reyes having sex with someone else prior to the shooting.

Fidler's brother, Ronald Chavez, testified that Fidler showed up crying hysterically, and explained that he "heard someone in the room,'' then heard a "pop." Upon being pressed for more facts, Fidler said, "I guess I shot her,'' Chavez testified.  

Chavez testified that Reyes had been unhappy that Fidler had recently started using methamphetamine again, but that the couple didn't otherwise seem to be having obvious problems.

In ordering Fidler to stand trial on charges including child endangerment during his preliminary hearing, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Gunther cited the fact that the couple's four children had access to the firearm and were living in "deleterious conditions."