Two young men accused of gunning down a 17-year-old boy during a confrontation in La Quinta were charged Wednesday with murder.
Elijah Alfredo Martinez of Bermuda Dunes and Dominick Cruz Venecia of Coachella — both 18 — were arrested Sunday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.
Along with murder, both defendants are charged with sentence-enhancing gun use allegations.
They pleaded not guilty during a joint arraignment Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Jason Stone, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for June 3 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Each defendant is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Benoit Detention Center.
Sheriff’s officials said the alleged attack happened about 2:30 a.m. Sunday in the 79-000 block of Paseo Del Rey, near La Quinta Park.
According to Sgt. Lance Stoyer, deputies were sent to the location to investigate reports of a shooting, but couldn’t find a victim. However, they were soon informed that a boy had been taken from the area to a Coachella Valley hospital for treatment.
Stoyer said the victim, identified in court documents only as “J.R.,” arrived at the trauma center “with injuries consistent with a gunshot wound.”
The teenager succumbed a short time later.
Martinez and Venecia were identified the same day as suspects, and detectives eventually obtained sufficient evidence to serve arrest warrants on each — Martinez on Airport Boulevard in Thermal Sunday afternoon, and Venecia near the intersection of Avenue 50 and Mazatlan Drive in Coachella Sunday night.
They were taken into custody without incident.
A possible motive for the slaying wasn’t disclosed. The criminal complaint alleges Venecia was the gunman.
Neither defendant has documented prior felony convictions in adult court. Juvenile records were unavailable.