Tag: Crime

Attempted murder and other felony charges were filed Tuesday against a trucker accused of opening fire on a motorist in Moreno Valley while traveling with a young girl in his rig.

On January 21, 2021, at 6:00 A.M., deputies assigned to the Coachella Community Action Team (CCAT), with the assistance of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), served a search warrant at a residence in the 43-500 block of Smurr Street in the city of Indio. The search warrant stemmed from an assault incident which occurred on January 19, 2021, in the city of Coachella.

During the course of this investigation, several suspects were involved in this robbery. The suspect who was shot, but survived, was identified as Tong Shun Zhang, 34 years of Rowland Heights. Zhang was arrested and charged with two counts of Murder, Attempted Murder, and Burglary. The Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit conducted surveillance on several locations in Los Angeles County, and were able to locate one of the suspect vehicles.

On January 15, 2021, at 8:10 P.M., deputies assigned to the Coachella Community Action Team (CCAT), conducted an occupied vehicle check in the desert area north of Vista Del Norte and west of Dillon Road in the city of Coachella. Ezequiel Ortega Nava, 46 of Thermal, was found to be armed with a firearm and fled from deputies into a palm field.

On January 7th 2021, investigators from the Central Homicide Unit arrested a 16 year old juvenile for his involvement in the murder of Blake Paine. The juvenile was booked into Southwest Juvenile Hall without incident. The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges on all three suspects. Investigators do not believe there are any other outstanding suspects. Anyone with information related to Blake Paine’s murder is encouraged to call Investigator Trudeau at 951-955-2777.