A California man is behind bars this week, accused of intentionally driving into a group of children and parents conducting a youth baseball fundraiser outside a Truckee grocery store.
Jonathan Maurer, 49, faces eight counts of attempted murder and multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon with several sentencing enhancements, the Nevada County District Attorney’s Office announced.
“The allegations that this act was intentional and directed at kids is hard to comprehend.” said District Attorney Jesse Wilson. “Our office will work through the criminal justice process and, if the evidence supports the charges, do everything we can, to the fullest extent of the law, to hold this individual accountable, send a clear message that this behavior has no place in society, and protect the public from further harm.”
According to KOVR, the 12U Tahoe Titans were outside a Safeway store, raising money for an upcoming trip to Cooperstown All Star Village in New York, when Maurer drove into the group.
“I remember hearing the truck a half second before I got hit,” catcher Rowan Grant told the station. “When I got hit, I just felt a little tingle and then the pain came on. I got flung away.”
Three players, three parents, and a player’s sibling were injured.
Jamie DeWit, a parent of one of the players, said the moments leading up to the attack were odd.
“He put a cigarette out on one of our signs, then came back out, gave us a weird look, mumbled something under his breath and walked away,” DeWit said. “The next thing I knew, myself and our boys were being pulled out of rubble.”
Court records show that Maurer has a lengthy criminal history.
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[Featured image: Tahoe Titans/GoFundMe. Inset: Jonathan Maurer/Placer County Sheriff’s Office]