Assault Charges Against Brian Hawkins Reduced

Felony assault charges against Brian Hawkins reduced

BANNING — Felony assault charges against San Jacinto City Councilmember Brian Eugene Hawkins, 44, were reduced Thursday, July 6 to two misdemeanor counts of endangering the health of a boy, 10, and a girl, 11, according to a complaint District Attorney Michael Hestrin filed.

The difference between a felony and a misdemeanor is significant because no one convicted of a felony can hold elected office in California.

Hawkins enter not guilty pleas to all charges. The next court date is a Trial Readiness Conference (TRC) scheduled for Aug. 17 in the Banning Courthouse. A criminal protective order was issued for the victims. Bail was set at $5,000. The defendant was in-custody at today’s Arraignment.

It was not immediately clear if the children were Hawkins’. The children were in his care and custody, according to the complaint.

Hawkins stands 6-feet-2-inches and weighs 280 pounds.

Hawkins remained in custody on Thursday, according to jail records,

According to the complaint, Hawkins committed a violation of Penal Code section 273a, subdivision (b), a misdemeanor. on or about July 02, 2023, in the County of Riverside, the defendant did willfully and unlawfully … cause a child, JANE DOE, 11, to suffer and did inflict unjustifiable physical pain and mental suffering on said child and, … did permit the health of said child to be endangered.

Also according to the complaint, Hawkins has several aliases:

• AKA: STEVEN SMITH
• AKA: BRIAN EUGENE HANKINS
• AKA: BRIAN EUGENE EDWARDS

Two days before the Fourth of July, the Riverside County Sheriff’s dispatch center received a call of a domestic incident at a residence in the 400 block of Mistletoe Avenue, in San Jacinto. The caller reported that Hawkins, of San Jacinto, committed an assault on two children at the location, according to Sgt. Anthony Pelato.

In 2022, Hawkins, then a Republican, challenged Democratic Incumbent Rep. Raul Ruiz in the 25th Congressional District and lost.

Now, a Democrat, he has announced plans to run for California’s 41st Congressional District. He is challenging one of the country’s longest-tenured Republican Congressmen, U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, for California’s 41st Congressional District.