Arraignment Set For Trio Accused in August Homicide at Cathedral City Park

Arraignment Set For Trio Accused in August Homicide at Cathedral City Park

by Contributing Editor

Arraignment was pushed back Wednesday for a young woman accused, along with her parolee father and a third defendant, in the killing of a 29-year-old man found fatally injured in a Cathedral City park last month.

Rena Lizette Alaniz, 20, of Thousand Palms, was arrested last Friday, and her father, Carlos Anthony Ruiz, 40, of La Quinta, and Andres Moreno, 18, of Cathedral City, were taken into custody the next day in connection with the Aug. 6 death of Ruben Argentis Mujica of Palm Desert, according to Cathedral City Police Department Cmdr. Paul Herrera.

All three defendants are charged with murder, and Ruiz also faces a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait, which makes him eligible for the death penalty if prosecutors opt to pursue it.

Alaniz’s arraignment was rescheduled for Thursday, when the other two defendants are also scheduled to be arraigned via video conference before a judge at the Banning Justice Center.

According to Herrera, officers were sent to Century Park on Davall Drive about 9:20 p.m. on Aug. 6 in response to a report of a fight and found Mujica suffering from life-threatening injuries. He was rushed to an area hospital, but doctors were unable to save him.

After taking over the case, homicide detectives began honing in on the father-daughter duo, according to police, who did not specify a motive for the killing, nor did they elaborate on Moreno’s alleged role.

“Through a very detailed and thorough investigation, Cathedral City detectives linked the victim to the suspects through various types of evidence and statements,” according to a police statement.

Ruiz is a convicted felon who was on parole at the time of his arrest, police said. He was convicted in 2004 of voluntary manslaughter in Riverside County and also has three felony burglary convictions, court records show.

The other two defendants do not have any documented felony convictions in Riverside County.

All three defendants remain behind bars in lieu of $1 million bail, according to jail records.

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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com