Jeremy Joseph Robbins, 38, has just learned that he is facing 15 years to life in prison, if he is convicted of the murder of Wesley Uyekawa, A 60-year-old man who was the manager of a car wash in Menefee.
According to reports, the killing occurred after Robbins, a Lancaster resident, mistakenly thought that Uyekawa had stolen from him. Uyekawa and Robbins were not acquainted with one another, and the incident occurred at a self-service car wash and storage facility that Wesley managed; he also lived on-site.
On the afternoon of March 22 of 2014, Robbins reportedly went to the self-service car wash near interstate 215 and McCall Boulevard to wash his sedan. While he was vacuuming his vehicle, he hung some of his dry cleaning on a chain-link fence nearby, driving away without taking the articles of clothing with him.
According to Sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Thrum, who testified in court, Robbins returned to the self-service car wash after 9 am the following morning, to retrieve the items he had forgotten. However, after unsuccessfully finding them, the altercation began with Uyekawa.
He proceeded to ask a 60-year-old worker if he knew what had become of his clothing, but after Wesley told him that he did not know, Robbins flew into a rage and left, returning again after 20 minutes to confront Uyekawa outside of the car wash office.
According to Sgt. Thrum’s testimony, Robbins accused Uyekawa of stealing his dry cleaning.
The 60-year-old man tried to walk away into his office but Robbins did not allow him to and proceeded to punch him in the face. Reports show that Uyekawa fell to the ground and grasp onto the defendant’s leg, who then kicked him and stomped on his abdomen.
Last Friday, the hour-long preliminary hearing which took place in the Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mac Fisher decided that there was justifiable evidence to take the case to trial and scheduled an arraignment hearing for February 24th for the crime of second degree murder.
Court documents show that the 60-year-old man called 911 and told the officers who arrived at the scene of the altercation, and he was promptly transported to Menifee Valley Medical Center with complaints of extreme abdominal pain.
Uyekawa was released from the hospital that same day, however, on the morning of March 24, one of his coworkers found him dead on the floor of his on-site apartment. The autopsy report states that the man suffered from the rupture of his small intestine, which caused him to die of blood poisoning.
Surveillance cameras at the car wash made it easy for investigators to identify Robbins of the culprit, and he was later arrested, at his address of 44223 Gillan Avenue in Lancaster, the following week. The same security camera also captured another car wash customer taking Robbins’ dry cleaning.
Robbins, who is in town in Menifee visiting his sister, is currently held on a $1 million bail.
