A man who allegedly beat a driver unconscious in a road-rage-fueled assault in Palm Springs was behind bars Tuesday.
Harvey Seno Lozada, 48, of Cathedral City was charged last week with aggravated mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and a sentence-enhancing allegation of causing great bodily injury. Lozada pleaded not guilty during a July 11 arraignment, and he was being held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning without bail.
He is accused of assaulting another motorist around 10 a.m. June 30, shortly after he and the victim were swerving around each other while driving in Palm Springs. Police said Lozada, driving a BMW coupe, allegedly cut off the victim.
The victim eventually pulled into a parking lot in the 2100 block of East Tahquitz Canyon Way, where Lozada allegedly got out of his car and approached the victim with "a long metal object."
According to police, Lozada struck the victim in the head with the object, causing the motorist to lose consciousness. Witnesses reported seeing Lozada walking calmly from the scene, getting into his car and driving away.
A cellphone at the scene and photographs discovered during a subsequent investigation led detectives to identify Lozada as the suspect.
Palm Springs detectives served a search warrant at around 7 a.m. July 7 at Lozada's Cathedral City home and arrested him.
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He is due back at the Larson Justice Center in Indio Wednesday for a felony settlement conference.
