Crime & Safety
After 2 Bodies Found In Burned Vehicle, Indio Man Charged With Murder
Luis Armenta, 21, of Indio was charged with two counts of murder with sentence-enhancing allegations.
INDIO, CA — A 21-year-old man was being held without bail Thursday on suspicion of murdering two men who were found in a burned vehicle Friday.
Luis Armenta of Indio was charged with two counts of murder with sentence-enhancing allegations of having more than one victim and discharge of a firearm causing great bodily harm, according to court records. He was additionally charged with a felony count of arson.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges Wednesday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
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Around 10:46 a.m. Dec. 2, officers responded to Power Line Road to a report of a burned vehicle that was found, according to public information officer Ben Guitron from the Indio Police Department.
Guitron said that officers found two burned bodies, identified in court documents only as Abelardo Z. and Cesar Z., inside the vehicle and detectives assumed the investigation.
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Armenta was subsequently identified as the suspect in the investigation and was arrested, according to Guitron.
He was booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center, where he was being held without bail, on Dec. 4, according to inmate records.
Anyone with information on this case was asked to call Detective Ryan Kitchens at 760-391-4181 or Valley Crime Stoppers anonymously at 760-341-7867(STOP).
