RivCo man to stand trial for shooting death involving suspected car thief

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) - A man accused of gunning down a suspected car thief in Riverside -- even though the victim wasn't taking a vehicle that belonged to the shooter -- must stand trial on first-degree murder and other charges, a judge ruled Friday.

Tony Javier Ortiz, 43, of Perris was arrested in 2024 following a Riverside Police Department investigation into the death of 35-year-old Alex Arzate of Riverside.

At the end of a preliminary hearing Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Sam Shouka found there was sufficient evidence to bound Ortiz over for trial on the murder count, along with sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.  

The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Feb. 17 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.  

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

According to police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback, just after midnight on July 24, 2024, Arzate allegedly broke into a Honda Civic in the Arlington neighborhood of west Riverside, and Ortiz was watching.   

"Investigators ... believe Ortiz witnessed Arzate steal the Civic, then produce a handgun and shoot Arzate as he was driving away in the stolen car,'' Railsback said.

He did not disclose to whom the Honda belonged, but it wasn't the defendant's car.

Arzate was struck in the head by the gunfire and managed to go a short distance, into the 9100 block of Magnolia Avenue, where he plowed into several parked vehicles and a dumpster before coming to a stop, according to Railsback.

Witnesses called 911, and patrol officers and paramedics reached the location minutes later, discovering Arzate slumped over the wheel, unconscious from the head wound. He was taken to Riverside Community Hospital where he died three hours later.

Robbery-Homicide Unit detectives identified Ortiz as the alleged shooter within a few hours, and a search warrant was obtained and served at his home on Brown Street, where several guns were seized, including the one likely used in the shooting, Railsback said.

Ortiz has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.   

Background details on Arzate were not provided.