Jury Selection Continues for Man Accused in Fatal Applebee’s Shooting

Prospective jurors filled out questionnaires today in the trial of a Cathedral City man suspected in a fight that led to a fatal shooting at an Applebee's Grill & Bar.

Willie R. Bustamante, 34, is charged with one felony count of murder and faces a sentence-enhancing allegation of discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury, according to court records.

The prospective jurors were ordered to return on Wednesday to continue jury selection, according to Thalia Hayden of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

Officers responded at 11:31 p.m. on Aug. 6, 2023, to a report of a fight involving numerous people inside Applebee's at 32400 Date Palm Drive, according to the Cathedral City Police Department.

During the altercation, one person pulled out a firearm and shot the victim, Ernesto Lazcano Arroyo, 31, a Cathedral City resident, according to police. Officers found Arroyo inside the restaurant with gunshot wounds.   

Paramedics from the Cathedral City Fire Department took Arroyo to a hospital, where he died, police said.

CCPD detectives conducted several interviews and worked several leads during their investigation, according to police. They worked with the Riverside County Gang Impact Team that conducted surveillance on Bustamante's residence in the 69100 block of Dinah Shore Drive, where a search warrant was served.   

Police said Antonio Portillo of Cathedral City, 30 years old at the time, was also identified as a suspect and booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, but according to inmate records, he was released without being charged in the case.

Bustamante was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Indio. His bail, initially set at $1 million, was later reduced to $100,000 by a Riverside County Superior Court Judge, and he was released on Aug. 26.   

Then-Riverside County District Attorney's Office public information specialist Brooke Beare told City News Service prosecutors "strongly objected to the bail reduction."