Prosecution testimony got underway Thursday in the trial of a 48-year-old convicted felon accused of gunning down a motel guest who punched him for unknown reasons while the person was socializing outside a room at a Motel 6 in Riverside.
Robert Donald Intong of Desert Hot Springs was arrested in 2021 following a Riverside Police Department investigation into the slaying of 31-year-old Cole William Birchard of Riverside.
Intong is charged with first-degree murder and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
The prosecution and defense completed opening statements in the trial Wednesday afternoon, after which Riverside County Superior Court Judge Sam Shouka directed the jury to return to the Riverside Hall of Justice Thursday morning, at which point the District Attorney’s Office called its initial witnesses.
Intong is being held on $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
According to the prosecution’s trial brief, the defendant, his girlfriend and her young adult daughter were staying at the Motel 6 on the 3600 block of La Sierra Avenue when they met Birchard, who was staying in a room nearby on the first floor.
It was unclear how long they were all acquainted.
In the early morning hours of May 17, 2021, Intong and his girlfriend, whose identity wasn’t disclosed, were sharing a cigarette when the victim joined them. The brief said that security surveillance video from the establishment showed the three conversing for several minutes, during which time the defendant appeared to become agitated.
Birchard stepped away and stared at the first-floor perimeter wall for “five minutes,” then went to his room. However, he returned roughly 15 minutes later, walking straight toward Intong, whom he punched in the face, the brief said.
The defendant yelled profanities at Birchard, then stepped into his room while his girlfriend stood in the doorway, grabbed a 9mm handgun and took a position behind the woman, allegedly firing multiple rounds “over her shoulder” at the victim, fatally wounding him, according to court papers.
Birchard made no attempt to flee when he saw Intong with the pistol, instead standing motionless, the prosecution said.
The defendant, his girlfriend and her daughter then proceeded to “remove items from their room” at an unhurried pace and load them into the defendant’s Chevy Suburban, walking around the victim’s lifeless body all the while, according to the brief.
The narrative alleged Intong picked up some of the spent 9mm shell casings near Birchard’s body before climbing into the Yukon and leaving with the women.
Police officers were not summoned to the motel for another 40 minutes, until a clerk spotted the victim’s body and called 911. It was unclear how the gunshots did not wake the other guests and prompt them to call the police.
Detectives immediately pulled the security surveillance videotape and observed the recordings, watching events unfold and verifying the license plate on the defendant’s vehicle, according to prosecutors.
Intong and the two women were tracked to the Roadway Inn on Magnolia Avenue around noon the same day, and all were detained for questioning.
The defendant’s girlfriend and her daughter both told investigators that Birchard “had been bothering them and was scary,” turning “aggressive” toward Intong for reasons unclear, the brief stated.
After he punched the defendant, Intong said aloud, “I’m tired of this (expletive)” and grabbed the gun, though the women suggested that he fired in self-defense, according to the brief.
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Intong initially denied perpetrating the shooting, but after he was shown the video, he “admitted to shooting the victim, saying he ‘just lost it’ (because) the victim was ‘(expletive) with me earlier,’” the narrative said.
The defendant was booked into custody and “wrote an apology letter to the victim’s family,” according to court papers.
Intong has prior convictions for possession of controlled substances, felony evading, battery and resisting arrest.
