MURRIETA (CNS) - A convicted felon from Lake Elsinore accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend and then fleeing to Las Vegas, where he was apprehended holding his and the victim's 2-year-old son, must stand trial for murder and other offenses, a judge ruled today.
Celestine John Stoot Jr., 43, allegedly killed 43-year-old Natasha Denise Barlow of San Jacinto last July.
Following a preliminary hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for the defendant on the murder count, as well as child cruelty, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
The ju
