Man Held in Chase Is Top Suspect in 2 Killings

A San Bernardino man who led officers on a high-speed freeway chase last month in the Coachella Valley has emerged as the leading suspect in two killings, including the strangling of a Loma Linda nurse last month, authorities said.

Justin Daniel Kirk, 23, told a Riverside County Superior Court judge in Indio on Tuesday that he had already confessed to a murder, apparently referring to his Sunday interview by San Bernardino County sheriff’s homicide detectives, authorities said.

A spokeswoman for that department said Kirk met with the detectives at the Indio jail to discuss the slaying of Lynn Lesley Gross, 53, who was found strangled on her Loma Linda kitchen floor June 10.

“After the interview, [the detectives] were convinced he was their suspect,” said the spokeswoman, Cindy Beavers.

Kirk has also been described by the Riverside County district attorney’s office as a person of interest in a fatal shooting in Coachella, Sheriff Bob Doyle said. No more details about that case were released.

Kirk is jailed on $1 million bond, and due back in court in Indio on Aug. 22.

He faces charges of attempted murder of a peace officer, using a firearm and evading arrest for the June 16 car chase that lasted from Palm Springs to Cabazon.

Kirk, with two prior felony convictions, allegedly shot at officers during the chase, which forced the closure of Interstate 10 for 12 hours.