Man arrested on suspicion of killing Desert Hot Springs man

A La Quinta man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing a 20-year-old man whose body was found in the open desert of Desert Hot Springs. Jose Manuel Angel Arellano, 21, was booked on suspicion of murder at the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio, where he remains on $1 million bail. Arellano is accused in the slaying of David Joaquin Murrieta of Desert Hot Springs, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Jail records indicate Arellano could make his initial court appearance at the Larson Justice Center in Indio next Monday. Sgt. Rick Espinoza said deputies from the Palm Desert sheriff’s station investigating an ongoing missing person case discovered human remains on Jan. 21 in the area of Mission Lakes Boulevard and Little Morongo Road. The sergeant did not specify whether Arellano was the person deputies were searching for. It remains unclear whether a weapon was used in the killing, and unknown when the killing occurred. Arellano does not have any documented felony convictions in Riverside County.