Victim In Coachella Killing Identified: Sheriff

COACHELLA, CA — A 34-year-old man was identified as the victim in a potential murder in Coachella this week, authorities said.

James Edward Montenegro of Coachella was found dead on Monday in the 51000 block of Cale Empalme and had suffered from traumatic injuries, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department reported.

Officers were sent to the area around 10:18 p.m. after reports of an assault with a deadly weapon where Mario Gonzalez, also a Coachella resident, was found hiding inside a nearby locked trailer, the department said.

After "several hours of negotiating," the 44-year-old suspect exited the trailer and was taken into custody. He was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center for murder, the department said.

No other information was immediately available.

Anyone with information was urged to call Central Homicide Unit Investigator Gonzalez at 951-533-4629.