A 61-year-old Acton man pleaded not guilty Friday after his preliminary hearing for a fatal hit-and-run collision on Soledad Canyon Road in Acton on Feb. 7, 2023.
James Preston Fulton appeared in court last week in a wheelchair and missing part of his arm, according to a transcript of the hearing.
A witness testified Fulton was not wheelchair-bound when the 6-foot-1, 210-pound man, along with several friends, beat him unconscious with their fists, boots and a tire iron, allegedly because he talked to the California Highway Patrol about their investigation into the hit-and-run and the death of Jeff Ellery Engels.
The crash
Prosecutors believe Fulton made an illegal U-turn onto Soledad Canyon Road that day, near the 9400 block, which put him directly in the path of Engels’ motorcyle.
A CHP officer testified that he saw at least two videos that supported the testimony given in court, including footage of the crash, and a video of a truck matching Fulton’s shortly after the crash.
In the latter, a passing motorist saw Fulton’s truck making sparks and tried to let Fulton know he was dragging something with his truck, shortly after the crash.
He followed Fulton and pulled up alongside him, worried Fulton would cause a brush fire. He couldn’t positively identify Fulton shortly after the crash, but as soon as he saw him in court, he remembered Fulton and told the CHP, according to the minute order.
Matthew Schoenholz — a man who claimed to be Fulton’s friend until he suspected Fulton and his wife slept together — testified that he recalled seeing Fulton’s truck pull into a lot near the crash site where they both previously lived, according to the court transcript.
Fulton recalled the date, Feb. 7, because Schoenholz’s father’s birthday, Schoenholz said on the stand, per the court record. Fulton was inspecting damage to his truck and swearing repeatedly, Schoenholz said.
Maybe a week later, a friend showed Schoenholz a “be on the lookout” for Fulton’s truck, and Schoenholz testified that he put things together and contacted the CHP, according to the transcript.
Hours after Schoenholz spoke to the police, Fulton and his friends showed up and beat Schoenholz unconscious in front of his wife, according to Schoenholz’s testimony.
Judge Deborah Horowitz said that, based on two days of “very disturbing testimony,” she was adding a felony dissuading a witness charge to Fulton’s case, according to the court record.
Additional cases
Fulton now stands accused of three felony charges: vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence; leaving the scene of an injury crash and the witness-threatening charge.
The criminal complaint against Fulton also states he had a previous strike for a 1988 felony burglary conviction, a 2006 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, a 2011 conviction for grand theft, and a 2014 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon.
His bail was raised to $200,000 as a result of the concern the prosecution raised for the witness and Fulton was remanded to custody on Aug. 1.
Sheriff’s Department records indicate Fulton’s previous bond stood and he was released the following day pending an October appearance.
At the October appearance, based on a motion from Fulton’s attorney, a judge is expected to look at consolidating the assault case Fulton has from an assault allegation and a stolen-vehicle charge that happened the same day Schoenholz spoke to the CHP.
