$250,000 Bail Set for Suspect in Officer Death

The arraignment of a 26-year-old steelworker on murder charges in the Aug. 22 freeway shooting of off-duty Corona Police Officer Patricia Dwyer was continued Friday to Sept. 12 in Riverside Municipal Court.

Harold Harvey Hawks, who was arrested at his parents’ Pomona home Tuesday on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and firing a weapon at an occupied vehicle, remained in custody in Riverside County Jail. Municipal Judge Ronald L. Taylor set bail Friday at $250,000.

Hawks’ attorney, John J. Murphy Jr. of Woodland Hills, requested the delay and declined to comment on the case.

Dwyer, 45, the Corona Police Department’s first female officer, was shot as she, her husband and two family friends transported the Dwyers’ son to a Riverside hospital. Patricia Dwyer was struck in the chest by a shotgun blast fired by another motorist, who first had made an obscene gesture on the eastbound Riverside Freeway.

Passed Slower Car

Dwyer’s husband, Mike, told police he had flashed his bright lights and tried to pass when a slower car cut him off in the fast lane. Eventually, he was able to pass the car on the right, but its driver stayed with his van through Santa Ana Canyon and into Corona.

There, the car’s driver fired once at the side of the van, police said. The shot passed through Patricia Dwyer, narrowly missed her son and struck a family friend, Wendy Varga, in the throat. Varga was listed as stable and in good condition Friday at Corona Community Hospital.

Police said Hawks admitted firing his 12-gauge shotgun at the Dwyers’ van but denied knowing he had struck anyone. A telephone tip to police led to Hawks’ arrest.

Hawks was taking his 2-year-old son to the mountains for the weekend when the incident occurred, Corona Detective Dale Stewart said. The boy, who lives with Hawks’ estranged wife, apparently was asleep.