Whitewater Death Turns Into Homicide Investigation

WHITEWATER, CA — A yet-to-be-identified male found dead Thursday in Whitewater was the victim of a homicide, and his alleged killers are in custody, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department announced Friday.

Shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday, deputies were called to the 15700 block of Country View Road about a person found dead at the property. Deputies searched "a large parcel of land" and found the deceased near a parked vehicle, the sheriff's department reported.

"The investigation revealed the victim was shot at the property," according to the law enforcement agency.

The sheriff's department named two suspects: Daniel Tomas Pacheco, 40, of Whitewater, and Juan Reyes, 48, of Palm Springs.

Pacheco was initially detained at the Country View Road property and was formally arrested Friday. Reyes was tracked down and arrested Thursday in the 3500 block of East Palm Canyon Road in Palm Springs. Both men were booked into Indio's John Benoit Detention Center.

Pacheco was booked on suspicion of murder, discharging a firearm in a negligent manner, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was being held on $1 million bail, according to jail records.

Reyes was booked on suspicion of murder without bail.

Information about the victim was not released pending notification of next of kin.

Anyone with information about the case was asked to call Investigator Brown at 760-836-1600 or Investigator Munoz at 951-955-2777.