Murder Charges Filed For Beaumont Felon In Fatal Drive By Shooting Near RivCo Reservation, Casino

BEAUMONT, CA — A Pass Area felon accused of gunning down a 50-year-old man in a drive-by attack on the edge of the Morongo Indian Reservation northeast of Banning was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and other offenses.

Beaumont resident Robert Eugene Leonard, 43, was arrested over the weekend by Morongo Casino/Reservation Police on multiple charges, including murder with malice, following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation into the slaying of Banning resident Orlando Lara.

Along with murder, Leonard was charged with being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm, being in possession of controlled substances while armed, a special circumstance allegation of perpetrating a murder in a drive-by and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

Leonard made his initial court appearance Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Jay Kiel, who appointed him a public defender and scheduled his arraignment for July 16 at the Banning Justice Center. He is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

Shortly before 11 p.m. June 25 passers-by discovered Lara's body in the 47000 block of Morongo Road, near Cottonwood Road, along the upper boundary of the reservation, according to Sheriff's Sgt. Alberto Loureiro. They called 911, and alerted authorities.

Upon arrival, deputies found the man's body, bearing "obvious signs" of being shot to death, Loureiro said.

The likely circumstances and motive were not disclosed.

Within two days, Central Homicide Unit detectives amassed sufficient evidence pointing to Leonard as the alleged shooter.

He was tracked to a residence on the reservation, where he was taken into custody without incident late Friday night.

Court records did not list Leonard's prior convictions, which occurred in another jurisdiction.