7-Month Homicide Investigation Leads To Arrests In Riverside County

MORENO VALLEY, CA — Two men suspected of killing a Moreno Valley man are now behind bars following a seven-month investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Moreno Valley residents Adam Melvin Carl, 29, and Ruben Alexander Puentes, 28, were arrested early Friday morning in one of the city's residential neighborhoods on Pepper Court.

Both men are being held at Riverside's Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of murder in the Nov. 1 slaying of 45-year-old Ralph Ortega. Each is being held in lieu of $1 million bail. They were due in court Tuesday, court records show.

It's unclear what led sheriff's investigators to the men or what their relationship, if any, was to Ortega.

On the night of the killing, deputies were called to the 24000 block of Dracaea Avenue in Moreno Valley. Just before 9 p.m., they found Ortega suffering from gunshot wounds.

The dying man was sent to a local hospital but did not survive.

When the initial investigation into the slaying was launched, the sheriff's department did not release any information about potential suspects.

"The Riverside County Sheriff's Central Homicide Unit assumed the investigation and is working to identify the suspect (s) involved," the agency said at the time. "This is an ongoing investigation, and no further information will be released at this time."

It wasn't until Tuesday that the law enforcement announced an update in the case.