Man Suspected In Deadly Shooting At Indio Apartments Behind Bars Without Bail

INDIO (CNS) – An 18-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting a man in an apartment in Indio was being held without bail Monday.

Jacob Matthew Alvin Vargas of Indio was arrested Friday on suspicion of murder, according to Indio Police Department spokesman Ben Guitron. The suspect was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, where he remains held without bail.

He’s expected to make his initial court appearance Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to inmate records.

Officers responded at 12:48 a.m. Friday to reports of gunshots heard at the Monte Azul Apartments, in the 82160 block of Dr. Carreon Boulevard, Guitron told City News Service.

“Officers were led to an apartment in the complex that, when upon entry, they found a male adult with gunshot wounds,” Guitron told CNS. “Indio (and) CalFire paramedics and fire staff were there, and the victim passed away at the scene.”

The name of the victim was not immediately released by the Riverside County Sheriff Department’s Coroner’s Bureau.

Guitron said people who heard the gunshots coming from that area led officers to the apartment, where paramedics and firefighters found the victim. They attempted unsuccessful life-saving measures and began a homicide investigation.

By Saturday, detectives identified Vargas as a suspect and found him in the 51-800 block of Sunset Drive in Coachella with assistance from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office Gang Impact Team, according to Guitron.

Anyone with information on the early morning shooting was asked to call IPD detective Kevin Belman at 760-541-4376, detective Shane DaCosata at 760-391-4117 or Valley Crime Stoppers at 760-341-7867.

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