Gang members accused of killing boy in Cathedral City drive-by shooting plead not guilty to murder
City News Service
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Two young men accused of killing a 13-year-old Cathedral City boy in a gang-related drive-by shooting pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges in court on Wednesday.
James Ian Carter, 19, and Christian Arturo Milward Ildefonso, 18, were arrested last month following a Cathedral City Police Department investigation into the slaying of Alan Martinez.
Along with murder, both defendants are charged with criminal street gang activity, special circumstance allegations of perpetrating a murder for the benefit of a criminal street gang and shooting a victim from a moving vehicle, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
Each man is being held without bail — Carter at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, and Ildefonso at the Benoit Detention Center in Indio. They are scheduled to return to court on Nov. 17.
According to police, the attack happened just after 8 p.m. on Aug. 13 at the intersection of Whispering Palms and Mission Indian trails.
Alan was walking with two friends on Whispering Palms when the defendants pulled alongside in a dark-colored sedan and engaged them, according to police Commander Jon Enos, who further said that within seconds, gunfire erupted from the vehicle, and Alan was hit and collapsed onto the street. His companions escaped injury, running away.
The car sped off as witnesses called 911, according to Enos.
Paramedics arrived minutes later and attempted resuscitative measures, but Alan perished at the scene.
In the ensuing days, homicide detectives garnered sufficient evidence to identify the defendants as the alleged perpetrators. They were tracked to a residence on Genesee Cove in San Diego, where they were taken into custody without incident on Aug. 18.
Neither man has documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County adult court.