Crime & Safety
Man Accused of Killing Temecula Woman and Her Dog in Court Today
Harry Shane Scholes, 56, could face 15 years to life in prison if convicted in the July 18, 2011, death of Charlotte Boyce.
Trial is scheduled to get under way today for a convicted drunken driver accused of killing an 87-year-old Temecula woman and her dog when he lost control of his pickup truck while under the influence of drugs and plowed into them on a sidewalk.
Harry Shane Scholes, 56, could face 15 years to life in prison if convicted in the July 18, 2011, death of Charlotte Boyce.
Scholes, who is being held at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta in lieu of $1 million bail, is charged with second-degree murder, DUI gross vehicular manslaughter, driving on a suspended license and driving on a suspended license while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Pretrial motions are set today, and jury selection in the case could begin anytime between now and Aug. 2.
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Boyce was walking her dachshund, Lucy, along Via Cordoba when the
defendant's pickup veered off the roadway around 9 a.m. July 18 and crashed
into the pair, fatally injuring both, according to sheriff's investigators.
Scholes, who lived with his parents just a few blocks from the crash site, was allegedly under the influence of prescription drugs at the time. The thrice-convicted DUI offender had lost his driving privileges because of a misdemeanor DUI conviction months before the crash.
Find out what's happening in Temeculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
According to published reports, he had a "Smart Start" ignition interlock device installed in his pickup truck that required him to breathe into an alcohol detector before he could drive -- a requirement that was among the terms of his probation stemming from a 2009 conviction. The device, however, could not detect the presence of prescription drugs.
