Murder and attempted murder charges were filed Monday against three men accused in a gang-related shooting outside a Cathedral City strip club that left one man dead and two others injured.
Manuel Vargas, 30, Christian Miramontes, 24, and Guillermo Gomez, 22, are accused in last Wednesday’s slaying of Jason Rosas, 24, of Indio outside the Showgirls Gentlemen’s Club. The men also face special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and discharging a firearm from a vehicle, making them eligible for the death penalty, if prosecutors pursue it.
Vargas and Miramontes were taken into custody over the weekend, while Gomez remains at large.
Police say the suspects, Rosas and two other men got into a fight inside the club; that fight allegedly spilled into the parking lot after the men were kicked out at around 2 a.m. The men were identified as “two groups of rival gang members,” by Cathedral City Police Chief Travis Walker.
Police did not specify what gangs the involved parties belonged to but noted that they were from “out-of-area.”
After the fighting guests were kicked out of the club by security, one suspect shot the victims with a handgun, Walker said.
All three victims were taken to a hospital, where Rosas later died. The other two — a 28-year-old Indio man and a 28-year-old Coachella man — were both expected to survive, police said.
Vargas is due to appear in an Indio courtroom Monday afternoon, while Miramontes is expected in court Tuesday.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting or Gomez’s whereabouts was asked to contact Detective Heather Olsen at (760) 770-0398 or Sgt. Rick Sanchez at (760) 202-2488.
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