Murder Charge Filed Against Suspect 20 Years After Riverside County Killing

RIVERSIDE, CA — An alleged killer who remained on the run for nearly 20 years was charged Monday with murder in Riverside County.

Following his Dec. 26 arrest, Anthony Silvas Miera, 51, of Spring Valley, was in Riverside County court Tuesday and is due back on March 20, according to records. He is being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside in lieu of $1 million bail.

The case against Miera dates back two decades. Just before 1:30 a.m. on June 18, 2006, a 21-year-old man was found shot dead in Highgrove, an unincorporated community about 4 miles north of the city of Riverside.

The victim was identified as 21-year-old Raymond Cardenas of Riverside.

Early in the investigation, homicide detectives believed they knew who the shooter was — Miera — but they lacked sufficient evidence to charge him, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

The investigation languished. But in August 2025, cold case detectives reopened the Cardenas file.

"After conducting additional investigation, the cold case unit developed sufficient evidence to charge Miera," according to the sheriff's department.

It's unclear why Miera was identified as a suspect early in the investigation, or what evidence was recently uncovered.

Little was publicly released about the slaying. According to the sheriff's department, Cardenas was shot multiple times. He went to a nearby residence for assistance, but it was too late to save him.

With the assistance of the Riverside County District Attorney’s Gang Impact Team, Miera was arrested without incident in his hometown of Spring Valley in San Diego County. He was then transported to Riverside County.

Investigators did not disclose a possible motive for the shooting.