Felon accused of gunning down Coachella man arraigned
City News Service
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A felon accused of gunning down a 51-year-old Coachella man in a premeditated attack pleaded not guilty today to first-degree murder and other charges.
Rafael Liera Moreno, 58, also of Coachella, was arrested last week following a monthlong Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the slaying of Enrique Arrieta.
Along with murder, Moreno is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
He was arraigned Monday before Superior Court Judge Arthur Hester, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Nov. 5 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Moreno was being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Lance Stoyer, shortly before noon Sept. 21, the defendant allegedly ambushed Arrieta at the intersection of Calle Limon and Genoa Street in Coachella. The victim was shot at least once and left lying unconscious at the location, to which paramedics responded after witnesses called 911.
Stoyer said life-saving measures were attempted, but Arrieta was pronounced dead at the scene.
Over the ensuing weeks, Central Homicide Unit detectives gathered sufficient evidence to obtain and serve an arrest warrant on Moreno, who was taken into custody without incident Tuesday on Nile Way in Coachella.
A possible motive was not provided, and the relationship between the defendant and victim, if any, was unknown.
Court records show that Moreno has prior convictions, but they weren’t listed.