Miguel Cavazos, 44, of Indio, was previously found guilty of first-degree murder in October. He was identified as a potential participant in the killing of Adrian Valdez following an Indio police investigation that concluded well after the defendant’s cohorts had been sentenced.

In addition to first-degree murder, jurors also found true sentence- enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations, as well as a special- circumstance allegation of killing for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

Judge Otis Sterling sentenced the defendant to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to Thalia Hayden of the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

According to an Indio Police Department statement, the defendant was identified after “additional information surfaced (indicating) Cavazos was present and a participant in the shooting.”

Police declined to elaborate on the findings.

In 2019, Cesar Anthony Monzon, Angel Zacarias Lopez, Andrew Marquie Malanche and Jose Antonio Armendariz, all in their 30s, were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Along with first-degree murder, each defendant was convicted of gang activity and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations. The Indio jury also found true a special-circumstance allegation against Monzon of killing for the benefit of a gang, while the panel found true a special- circumstance allegation of firing from a vehicle causing death against his associates.

Deputy District Attorney Jacob Silva said there was a dispute at the grave site of Lopez’s cousin before the defendants targeted Valdez. Valdez was standing with a group of people, some of whom were known gang members, outside a home in the 82600 block of Mountain View Avenue when the shooting happened shortly before 1 a.m. Aug. 7, 2016, authorities said.

Surveillance footage from an Indio 7-Eleven showed the occupants of a Chevrolet Caprice and a Toyota Sequoia congregating at the convenience store, then going to the Mountain View property.

A security camera mounted on a nearby home captured gunfire coming from both sides of the Toyota, while the driver of the Chevrolet sped away eastbound. Silva conceded during the trial that it was unclear who fired the fatal shot.

Between 10 and 15 people were standing with Valdez at the time, and Armendariz’s attorney, John Dolan, argued that gunfire originating from within that group could have struck Valdez.

Armendariz, who police said was driving the Toyota, was arrested Aug. 8, 2016. Three bullet holes were found on the exterior of the SUV, and ammunition was found inside, according to the prosecution.

Lopez and Malanche went to nearby JFK Memorial Hospital hours after the attack. Malanche was hospitalized with a single gunshot wound that entered through his backside, while Lopez was treated for a graze wound.

Police were notified, and officers seized a backpack belonging to Lopez that he had dropped near the emergency room. The satchel contained two handguns and nearly 100 rounds of ammunition, according to an Indio police affidavit filed in support of an arrest warrant.

According to the declaration, Lopez told police he was inside the Chevrolet during the shooting, but he did not admit to taking part.

Malanche told detectives he was driving by the Mountain View Avenue home with Lopez when they were fired upon. Malanche said he was “scared,” and that he and Lopez fired several shots at their attackers in retaliation, according to the affidavit.

The post RivCo Gang Member Convicted In 2016 Murder Gets Life Sentence appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

A Riverside jury deliberated nearly two days before finding Steven Daniel Carrillo, 24, of Riverside guilty of killing Derrion Thomas of Rialto in 2020.

Along with the murder count, jurors convicted Carrillo of attempted murder, special-circumstance allegations of killing for the benefit of a criminal street gang and perpetrating a hate crime, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

They acquitted him of one attempted murder charge.

Jurors started deliberations Wednesday morning, after the prosecution and defense delivered closing arguments Tuesday afternoon. The panel announced it had reached a verdict late Thursday afternoon.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jerry Yang scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 28 at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Carrillo, who is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail, is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The defendant is a documented member of Riverside’s oldest street gang, prevalent in the area along the University Avenue corridor, authorities said.

In late October 2020, Carrillo was staying with fellow gang members in a room at the Motel 6 near the intersection of Iowa and University avenues, according to briefs filed by the District Attorney’s Office and the defense.

Staying in a room nearby were Sharon Mayweather, Isaiah Smith and Thomas, all related. On Oct. 24, Mayweather was released from the downtown Riverside jail, where she had been held for unspecified reasons, and she became intoxicated at the motel, according to court papers.

“She was hanging around Mr. Carrillo’s (black Jaguar) in the parking lot, and he told her to get away from his vehicle,” according to the defense.

There was a hostile exchange before she returned to her room.

Two days later, on the night of Oct. 26, Thomas and Smith were preparing to drive in the latter’s Saturn sedan to pick up food, and Mayweather was trailing behind when she encountered Carrillo in his car, leading to another confrontation, during which she told Smith and Thomas the defendant had threatened her. They doubted her claims and “ushered” her into the car, the defense said.

Prosecutors said the defendant was incensed, possibly because he had been publicly challenged by a woman in front of three juvenile gang members.

Although his Jaguar had been pointed in the direction opposite to where the victims were going, he turned around and pursued them eastbound on University, according to the prosecution’s brief.

Court papers state the victims tried to avoid further contact, racing through traffic lights until they reached the left turn lane to go into the Food4Less grocery store parking lot at University and Chicago avenues. Carrillo pulled alongside and shouted profanity-laced challenges, at which point Thomas pulled a semiautomatic handgun and “fired up to 11 rounds at Mr. Carrillo,” the defense said.

The Jaguar’s driver’s side window was blown out, but Carrillo and the youths with him were not hit. Smith tried to pull his own pistol out of his front pocket, but the trigger caught on his pants, and he shot himself in the right thigh, according to court documents.

Carrillo pulled his own 9mm pistol and fired into the Saturn, striking Thomas twice, including a fatal wound to the chest, according to the prosecution. Smith tried to flee when the shots were fired but crashed into a traffic sign. He stumbled out of the car and hobbled away to get help.

Mayweather was not injured. Thomas stepped out of the car and collapsed.

Carrillo fled the scene.

Thomas was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Smith underwent surgery to his leg and fully recovered.

Relying on security surveillance video from the motel and businesses along University, Riverside police detectives were able to identify the perpetrator, and an arrest warrant was served on him without incident two weeks later at a residence in the 2300 block of Candlestick Way in Perris.

Investigators seized his journal, in which he “bragged about the shooting,” according to the prosecution’s brief, which said he referred to the victims as “snails” and wrote that “there is a sort of war” between groups.

“The defendant noted he was proud he was able to show the little homies how to gang bang,” the brief said.

The defense blamed Mayweather for provoking the altercation, additionally asserting Carrillo was not the one who initiated violence that night.

The post Car-to-car shooting in Riverside leads to gang member’s murder conviction appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.