NORCO – (INT) – Sheriff’s investigators say that murder charges are pending against a car jacking suspect whose 79 year-old victim was dragged down a Norco street and later died.

Ryan Hewitt of Corona was located late Monday (May 12th) near the Tyler Mall in Riverside after the silver SUV he allegedly stole was abandoned on Magnolia Avenue.

The victim of the carjacking, James Norman of Corona, had stopped at a gas station in Norco. He tried to fend off his assailant and reportedly was dragged down the street suffering fatal injuries.

Witnesses and video surveillance implicated Hewitt who is jailed at the Presley Detention Center in Riverside on suspicion of murder and carjacking.

Story Date: May 20, 2025