Crime & Safety
Man, Woman Arrested In Rancho Mirage Killing: Sheriff's Dept.
Joseph Samuel Runyon, 19, and Leslie Martinez, 36, both from Desert Hot Springs, are suspects in the June 16 slaying of Alejandro Suarez.
COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — Two people were arrested Wednesday in connection with the fatal shooting of a 43-year-old man in Rancho Mirage.
Joseph Samuel Runyon, 19, and Leslie Martinez, 36, both from Desert Hot Springs, were booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center Wednesday afternoon, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
They were arrested in connection with the shooting death of Alejandro Suarez of Rancho Mirage, who was shot the night of June 16 in the 70200 block of Highway 111. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the sheriff's department.
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It was unclear what led investigators to Runyon and Martinez.
Runyon was being held without bail on suspicion of murder, according to jail records.
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According to court records, he has an active traffic-related case with charges of being an unlicensed driver, exceeding 55 miles per hour and failure to provide proof of insurance.
Martinez was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail on suspicion of murder, willfully harming a child and for being an accessory, according to inmate records.
The basis for the accusation of harming a child was not immediately known.
