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3 young men and teen, 15, arrested in Coachella shooting
Riverside County Apr 21, 2023
| Photo courtesy of Scott Rodgerson/Unsplash
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Three young men and a 15-year-old boy were arrested for their alleged involvement in a vehicle-to-vehicle shooting in Coachella, within five miles of the annual music festival, authorities said Friday.
Indio residents Raymond Munoz-Jimenez, 18, Ruben Molina, 19, and Esteban Lara-Cardenas, 22, along with a 15-year-old boy, were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy and possession of a loaded firearm, according to Sgt. David Aldrich of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Molina was additionally arrested on suspicion of committing a felony while on bail.
Aldrich said that deputies responded to the 85000 block of Cairo Street about 10:35 p.m. Thursday to a report of a shooting between the occupants of a Ford SUV and a silver sedan.
Numerous semiautomatic handguns were fired, but no one was injured, according to Aldrich. Both vehicles fled the scene, but the Thermal Sheriff’s Station Special Investigation Unit found the SUV in the 50000 block of Frederick Street shortly afterward.
Deputies tried to stop the SUV, but a short pursuit ensued to the 84000 block of Vera Cruz, where the occupants got out and fled while the vehicle was still in drive, Aldrich said. The SUV subsequently collided into a residence. No one inside was injured.
Molina, who was in the front seat, allegedly dropped a semiautomatic firearm as he exited the vehicle, and was arrested in the area, according to Aldrich. The boy, who had been in a back seat was arrested shortly after a perimeter was set up. He was found in the 49000 block of Corte Percebe in Coachella. A firearm was also allegedly found in the vehicle.
Munoz-Jimenez, who had been at the wheel, and the other rear passenger, Lara-Cardenas, were later arrested in the 84000 block of Corte Loreto, Aldrich said.
The suspects in the silver sedan remained outstanding.
The adult arrestees were booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, where Molina was being held on $500,000 bail, while Munoz- Jimenez and Lara-Cardenas were held on $25,000 bail.
The teen was booked into Juvenile Hall in Indio.
Anyone with additional information on the incident was asked to call Deputy Piscatella of the Thermal Sheriff’s Station at 760-863-8107 or Valley Crimestoppers, anonymously, at 760-341-7867(STOP).
