Two men to stand trial in March shooting at ‘The Block’
Two men initially charged with attempted murder in the shooting of two other men outside a Cathedral City bar will stand trial on criminal counts, but only one will be held for attempted murder, a judge ruled Thursday.
Santos Franco, 20, of Palm Springs and Felipe Arechiga, 25, of Desert Hot Springs, are accused in the March 5 shooting of two men outside The Block Sports Bar & Grill following an argument. Both men were charged with two counts of attempted murder, but only Franco, who is accused of firing on the men with a gun in each hand, will stand trial on that charge, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John G. Evans ruled. Arechiga will be tried for being an accessory after the fact for allegedly driving Franco from the scene after the shooting.
Read our original story on the shooting.
Police received multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire at 1:47 a.m. that day and found two men, ages 24 and 25, with gunshot wounds in the parking lot of the sports bar. One of the men was shot multiple times in the head and chest, while the other man was struck once in the shoulder. Both men were hospitalized for just under a week and have since recovered from their injuries.
The shooting broke out after Franco, Arechiga and one of the victims got into an argument outside the bar. That victim testified that he and Arechiga had been involved in several verbal disputes in the past, but did not elaborate on what precipitated the argument outside The Block.
Arechiga’s attorney, Bosky Kathuria, argued that the evidence did not show Arechiga had any part in orchestrating the shooting. Witnesses did testify that he left the scene with Franco, after which the pair allegedly tried to dispose of the weapons.
The men were arrested at around 2 p.m. March 5, according to Cathedral City Police Cmdr. Julio Luna, who said detectives recovered two handguns used in the shooting.
Franco and Arechiga will return to court September for a post-preliminary hearing arraignment.
In the past year, The Block has also been the site of a fatal beating and a shooting that sent a man to the hospital.
Last June, Rolando Rodriguez was beaten outside the bar in an attack that left him comatose. He died in a hospital months later. Three men — Jorge Tapia, Michael Rios and Andrew Ponce — are awaiting trial on murder charges in connection with the beating.
Last month, another argument turned into a shooting that left a man hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen and hand. Four men, Tomas Zaragoza, Andrew Monroy, Carlos Rodriguez, and Ricky Ceballos — were arrested and charged with attempted murder in that shooting.
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