Lake Elsinore Walmart Killing: Parolee Pleads Not Guilty

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A parolee accused of fatally stabbing a 65-year-old sales clerk earlier this month at the Lake Elsinore Walmart Supercenter pleaded not guilty Friday to first-degree murder and other charges.

Along with murder, Lonnie Will Hinton III, 29, of Wildomar is charged with a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait, a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony and parole violations.

He was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jeff Zimel, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Oct. 10 at the Southwest Justice Center.

The defendant is being held without bail at the Cois Byrd Detention Center in French Valley.

According to sheriff's Sgt. Jarred Bishop, just before 7 a.m. Aug. 5, Hinton was inside the Walmart store at 29260 Central Avenue when he confronted employee Jessica Morales of Menifee.

The specific circumstances were not disclosed, but Hinton pulled out a weapon and stabbed the victim, court papers alleged.

Bishop said Hinton fled as the woman's co-workers called for help.

Paramedics arrived within 15 minutes and pronounced Morales dead at the scene.

Morales and Hinton were not acquainted with each other.

"This appears to be a random event, and there was no interaction between the suspect and the victim prior to the assault," the sheriff's department said.

No other injuries were reported.

On the day of the stabbing, Hinton later turned himself in at the Lake Elsinore Sheriff's Station.

He has prior convictions for robbery and theft stemming from Nov. 8, 2020, violence at Gus Jr., a restaurant at 497 E. 4th Street in Perris.

Hinton allegedly stabbed a cook at the eatery after stealing money from the business. A charge of assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury and a felony enhancement of great bodily injury were both dismissed, and a battery charge was stricken.

Instead, Hinton pleaded guilty and was convicted on one count each of felony robbery and misdemeanor petty theft in the case. He was sentenced to five years in prison and was released on parole earlier this year.

Relatives of Morales launched a GoFundMe campaign for the benefit of the victims' adult children to cover funeral costs.

"She was kind, generous and loving to everyone she encountered," the GoFundMe page says of Morales. "She always put people before herself. Though it pains us, we now have a beautiful angel looking over our family."

As of Friday afternoon, the page had raised nearly $29,000.