Gun Violence Leaves 2 Teens Dead In Separate RivCo Shootings

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Separate gun violence incidents on Sunday claimed the lives of two teen boys in Riverside County, according to the sheriff's department.

The first incident unfurled predawn. At about 2:36 a.m., deputies were called about a shooting in the 79000 block of Paseo Del Rey in La Quinta.

While searching the area for victims, suspects and evidence, deputies were notified about a 17-year-old boy with a gunshot wound at a local hospital. The boy did not survive and his identity was not released.

Homicide detectives tracked the shooting to two 18-year-old Coachella Valley men: Elijah Alfredo Martinez of Bermuda Dunes and Dominick Cruz Venecia of Coachella.

Martinez was quickly apprehended on Airport Boulevard in Thermal while Venecia was arrested late Sunday night in Indio. It's not clear what led investigators to the two men. Both are being held at Indio's John Benoit Detention Center on suspicion of murder with bail at $1 million for each.

In a separate incident Sunday, deputies were called around 3:54 p.m. to a hospital in Riverside about a 15-year-old boy who had been fatally shot.

Witnesses were interviewed at the hospital and it was determined the teen was shot in the 10100 block of Ben Nevis Boulevard in Jurupa Valley. No arrests were announced, and the victim's identity was not released.

The motives for the weekend violence are unclear, and there was no indication from authorities that the two incidents were connected.

Anyone with information about the Jurupa Valley shooting is asked to call Investigator Sandoval with the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-2777 or Investigator Medina with the Jurupa Valley Sheriff's Station at 951-955-2600.

Anyone with additional information about the Coachella Valley shooting is asked to contact Investigator D. Brown with the Central Homicide Unit or Investigator J. Bugarin with the Thermal Sheriff’s Station at 760-863-8990.