A July 27 preliminary hearing has been set for a La Mesa man who is accused of fatally shooting a woman back in March while she was driving away from his home.

It is not clear what happened between Thomas Evans III, 47, and Saundralina “Lina” Williams, 27, and the men in her car after 5:30 a.m. on March 5.

Evans “came out and confronted them,” outside his home, according to an arrest warrant affidavit that was filed in El Cajon Superior Court. The affidavit says the men apparently were “looking for targets of opportunity to steal” while driving around residential areas of La Mesa.

Evans got into his white Toyota truck and followed the car driven by Williams onto State Route 94. One passenger said he felt a bullet travel pass one of his ears, and then Williams was shot in the head while driving.

The car came to a stop east of Kenwood Drive and the passengers waved down a sheriff’s deputy. Williams was taken to a hospital where she later died after being taken off life support. She was a young mother of several children.

Evans has pleaded not guilty to murder and with the special circumstance of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle that results in a murder. He is also charged with attempted murder of the two passengers and shooting at an occupied vehicle.

Evans was arrested by the California Highway Patrol and remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility without bail.

– Neal Putnam is a local court reporter.

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