Paso Robles police are investigating the death of a 6-year-old boy who was apparently left in a hot car on Saturday in Paso Robles.
The child's father, Briant ReyesEstrada, 27, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and willful harm or injury to a child likely to produce great bodily injury.
The temperature reached a high of 99 degrees in Paso Robles on Saturday.
Police say they were notified of the death just before 6 p.m. that day. Detectives believe ReyesEstrada's vehicle was parked in the parking lot at the Paso Robles Inn for several hours before he took the child to Twin Cities Hospital in Templeton, where the boy was pronounced dead.
Police are asking anyone with further information about this case or who was in the parking lot of the Paso Robles Inn up until 3:40 p.m. on May 10 to call the Paso Robles Police Department at (805) 227-7455. Anonymous tips can be made by contacting Crime Stoppers at (805) 549-STOP.
The Paso Robles Unified School District released a statement Monday announcing the death of a student at Pat Butler Elementary School. The statement from Superintendent Jennifer Loftus said that mental health professionals are on campus to support students and staff.
ReyesEstrada has another criminal case that is currently going through the court system. The misdemeanor charges were filed last fall and include false impersonation, falsifying a driver’s license, and two charges of embezzlement. He has pleaded not guilty and was set for a pre-trial conference on June 3.
In addition, in October 2024, Pacifica Hotel Company filed for a workplace violence restraining order against him on behalf of an employee at the Fireside Inn in Cambria. According to the court paperwork, ReyesEstrada was an employee at the Inn and was fired after being disciplined several times for using a personal camera to secretly record people at work. The petition claimed that ReyesEstrada was acting threateningly toward his former manager, even going to their home after he was fired.
As of Monday afternoon, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office said ReyesEstrada's murder case had not yet been referred to the office for review; however, he is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges this Wednesday, May 14.
ReyesEstrada remains in custody at the San Luis Obispo County Jail without bail.
