Murder Trial Nears For La Quinta Man Accusing of Killing Wife
Murder Trial Nears For La Quinta Man Accusing of Killing Wife
by Contributing Editor
A 29-year-old man accused of gunning down his wife at a mobile home park in La Quinta while their children slept nearby re-entered a not guilty plea Wednesday to a murder charge and was ordered to return to court on Jan. 4 for a trial-readiness conference.
Jose Valles Meza was arrested on Jan. 27, 2019, on suspicion of killing 26-year-old Patricia Cesena, who was found dead inside their residence in the Dune Palms Mobile Estates at 46400 Dune Palms Road.
Along with the first-degree murder count, Meza faces a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait, which makes him eligible for the death penalty if prosecutors choose to pursue it.
Following a preliminary hearing at the Larson Justice Center in Indio last month, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Charles Stafford ruled that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for Meza to proceed to trial.
He’s being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
California Highway Patrol Officer Michael Bernardino testified that the investigation into the woman’s slaying was triggered by a traffic stop in Imperial County in the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 27. The defendant was pulled over for speeding about 3:30 a.m. and was subsequently taken into custody on suspicion of drunk driving, the officer said. Once at the local jail, Meza told the officer he “witnessed a murder,” Bernardino testified.
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies were sent to the Dune Palms Road address to conduct a welfare check, and found Cesena dead about 5:50 a.m. that morning inside the family’s mobile home, according to the sheriff’s department.
The couple’s four children were found sleeping in the other room, sheriff’s Investigator Martin Alfaro testified.
According to Alfaro, the victim suffered a single gunshot wound to the head, which appeared to have been fired from outside the home.
Prosecutors contend Meza somehow lured the victim to the window and shot her.
Sheriff’s Investigator Armando Munoz testified that one of the children, an 8-year-old girl, said in an interview after the shooting that her parents often fought, and that cameras were placed throughout the house because her father believed her mother was inviting other men to the home.
Meza has no documented felony convictions in Riverside County, court records show.
>> Want to read more stories like this? Get our Free Daily Newsletters Here!
All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com
