Latoya Calhoun, 40, of San Jacinto, California, was found dead along Esplanade Avenue on April 29, 2017. Her death was first reported as a motor vehicle-related incident because her body was discovered at the roadside, but investigators later determined she had been shot multiple times and the case was reclassified as a homicide.

Prosecutors say Calhoun owed Traevon Denae Stewart an unspecified sum and that Stewart had threatened to shoot her if she did not repay the debt. On the night of April 28, 2017, Calhoun called her mother asking for help to leave the area; the mother could not assist because she lacked funds. In the early hours of April 29, Stewart allegedly found Calhoun, forced her into his vehicle, shot her multiple times and dumped her body on Esplanade Avenue. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.

Stewart, 40, of Banning, was arrested April 30 and charged with murder, kidnapping, attempted robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and witness intimidation, including special circumstances of killing during a robbery. Michael Wayne Bird, 62, of Banning, was arrested the next day and charged as an accessory after the fact. Stewart was held without bail; Bird’s bail was set at $50,000. Anyone with information about Latoya Calhoun or her death is asked to come forward.