By Miriam Raftery

August 9, 2021 (Borrego Springs) -- On February 18, Sheriff's deputies responded to Di Giorgio Road and Palm Canyon Drive in Borrego Springs for a report of a battery. Deputies found Martin Baker, 49,  on the side of the road suffering from head trauma.

He was transported to a local area hospital for treatment. Later that day, deputies arrested Eugene Carl Focarelli, 37, for assault with a deadly weapon, not a firearm. On Feb. 22, Baker’s condition declined and the Borrego Springs resident died at the hospital.