Pastor accused of taking out murder contract to stand trial on felony charges

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) - An Inland Empire pastor who allegedly arranged a contract hit on a Riverside man must stand trial for attempted murder and other charges, a judge ruled today.

Samuel Davalos Pasillas, 48, one-time pastor of a Latin church in Victorville, was arrested last year following a Riverside Police Department investigation that also snared two other alleged conspirators.

At the end of a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Dwight Moore found there was sufficient evidence to bound Pasillas over for trial on the attempted murder count, as well as assault with a firearm, conspiracy and solicitation of murder.

The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Oct. 16 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.  

Pasillas is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.

One of his co-defendants, 56-year-old Juan Manuel Cebreros of Long Beach, pleaded guilty in April to gun assault and was sentenced to four years in state prison.

The alleged triggerman, 26-year-old Jesus Abel Felix Garcia, remains at large and is believed to be hiding in Mexico. There's an active warrant for his arrest.

Garcia is charged identically to Pasillas, with the exception of the solicitation of murder allegation.

He allegedly targeted Llmar Barajas at a Riverside intersection in October 2023.

According to an arrest warrant declaration filed by the police department, Pasillas did not like Barajas and did not want him with his daughter, Yareli Pasillas.

Detectives interviewed the woman, the victim and the pastor's son, Samuel Pasillas Jr., and ``all said Sam is extremely controlling of Yareli, and they did not believe he approved of her dating Barajas,'' the declaration said.   

According to police, on the night of Oct. 21, 2023, Barajas was driving in the area of Grove Community Drive and Plainview Street when he stopped at the intersection. He noticed a Toyota Corolla pull alongside him, occupied by two men, and the one in the passenger seat of the sedan ``fired
several shots,'' wounding the victim, court papers stated.

``The victim drove himself to the hospital and was treated for his injuries,'' Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback said.   

Barajas has since recovered.   

In the ensuing investigation, detectives confirmed Pasillas allegedly had sought out and hired Garcia to perpetrate the contract killing, paying him in three installments totaling $39,500, according to the declaration.   

Detectives procured search warrants for Pasillas' mobile phone data, which revealed ``multiple meetings with Jesus on different dates,'' court papers said.

The men's last rendezvous occurred on Oct. 25, 2023, in Paramount, according to the affidavit.

``The meeting was short,'' the narrative said. ``Garcia then fled the country and went to Mexico.''    Investigators detained Pasillas for questioning a few months later.   

``During the Miranda interview of Sam, he told several lies ... However, when presented with evidence, including cell phone records and messages, he admitted to hiring Jesus Garcia to scare Llmar Barajas,'' the declaration said.   

Pasillas and Cebreros were taken into custody without incident during warrant searches in Victorville and Long Beach on March 13, 2024.   

The defendants have no prior documented felony or misdemeanor convictions in Riverside County.