Man convicted of voluntary manslaughter in death of Desert Hot Springs man
Jesus Reyes
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A La Quinta man has been convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a 20-year-old man whose body was found in the open desert of Desert Hot Springs in 2021.
Jose Manuel Angel Arellano, 26, is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 8.
Arellano was first arrested in February 2021 in connection with the death of David Joaquin Murrieta of Desert Hot Springs.
According to Sgt. Rick Espinoza of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were investigating a missing person case discovered human remains on Jan. 21, 2021, in the area of Mission Lakes Boulevard and Little Morongo Road.
Sheriff’s Detective Martin Alfaro testified in Arellano’s preliminary hearing that Murrieta’s body was found with three gunshot wounds — one entering from the back of his head, one from the left side of his head and one from the right side of his chin — in a shallow grave under a set of metal springs in the open desert.
A second suspect, Gabriel “Vago” Magdaleno, 29, was also charged with murder in this case. He pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 15.
Alfaro said Arellano drove from Tijuana, Mexico to the Palm Desert sheriff’s station on Feb. 17, 2021 to tell “his side of the story” and alleged that his friend, Magdaleno, was the one who shot Murrieta on Jan. 14, 2021.
According to Alfaro, Arellano said the trio were at Murrieta’s house before they all left in the defendant’s truck and drove toward Indio. At some point while Arellano was driving on Intestate 10 approaching Cook Street, Magdaleno and Murrieta began arguing, Alfaro testified.
Both men had guns in their hands during the argument, and Arellano said Magdaleno felt disrespected, according to a declaration in support of Magdaleno’s arrest warrant filed by Alfaro.
“Arellano told me that he saw Magdaleno shoot once at victim Murrieta in the back of the head and subsequently saw him shoot him two additional times after,” Alfaro testified Feb. 6.
The defendant then drove to the location, where they ended up burying Murrieta with a shovel that was in the back of the truck, Alfaro said.
Arellano subsequently went to a house on Sixth Street to get rid of his clothes by burning them before driving his truck to Mexico, he said.
Magdaleno pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery in 2014 in Riverside County, according to court records. He did not have any documented felony convictions in Riverside County at the time of his arrest.