Lake Elsinore Dad's Hit-And-Run Death: Ex Texas Cop Pleads Not Guilty

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A former correctional officer from Texas charged with murder in the hit-and-run death of a Lake Elsinore motorist on Interstate 215 pleaded not guilty Monday.

In addition to the second-degree murder charge, Giovanni Ceja, 31, is charged with felony hit-and-run causing death/injury and a sentencing enhancement of failing to stop after an accident that resulted in injury/death.

A former Bexar County, Texas, sheriff’s correctional corporal, Ceja is accused of fatally crashing into Gilberto Sotelo at approximately 1:45 a.m. Aug. 7 as the 38-year-old father of seven poured gasoline into his stalled pickup truck on the freeway's southbound shoulder, just north of La Cadena Drive, in Riverside.

Instead of stopping, Ceja — who was identified as the hit-and-run driver by the California Highway Patrol — left the scene, according to the state law enforcement agency. Sotelo died at the scene.

A five-year veteran of the Bexar County Sheriff's Department, Ceja was working in uniform at his local county jail on Aug. 14 when the Riverside County Sheriff's Department called to say it had a warrant for his arrest, according to a report from local news outlet KENS5.

Ceja was asked if he wanted to resign or go through the process of termination and he chose to submit a resignation letter, which was accepted on the spot, KENS5 reported.

"He's wearing orange and being booked into the same jail he came to work at this morning," Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar told reporters at the time.

Ceja was extradited by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and booked into the Riverside's Robert Presley Detention Center on Aug. 27.

Ceja was on vacation in California and had borrowed a Honda Ridgeline pickup truck from a relative when the fatality occurred, according to Salazar.

With the assistance of community tips into the CHP, on Aug. 9 a Honda Ridgeline pickup found at a Riverside repair shop was tracked to Ceja.

Salazar told KENS5 that Ceja concocted a story about hitting a truck on the side of the road when he returned the damaged vehicle to his relative. That person called authorities after seeing reports of the fatal hit-and-run.

"The outcome of this incident may not have been resolved if not for the collaborative efforts from our community and media partnerships," said Riverside Area CHP Commander Captain Steve Branconier.

“I’m extremely disappointed. Quite frankly, I’m furious," Salazar told KENS5. "My understanding is [Ceja] was talking to California authorities ... and couldn’t even get his story straight.”

A GoFundMe page established for Sotelo's family has raised more than $46,000.

Ceja is due back in court Jan. 30. Bail has not been set for him, according to court records.