Attempted murder charges filed in Indio driveby

Attempted murder charges were filed against two men suspected in a non-injury drive-by shooting that prompted a law enforcement lockdown of a school and two community centers in Indio.

Jesus David Jimenez, 28, of Desert Hot Springs, and 37-year-old Raul Anthony Carmona of Indio were additionally charged with two counts each of shooting at a vehicle. They both pleaded not guilty this afternoon at the Larson Justice Center in Indio and are due back in court Dec. 27 for a felony settlement conference.

Both men were arrested around 11:30 a.m. Monday, about three hours after the shooting was reported at Palmwood and Pindo drives. Two other suspects remain at large.

Indio High School, Indio Teen Center and the Indio Senior Center were locked down during a search for the four occupants of a Honda Civic, from which shots were aimed at a Toyota Sequoia carrying two people.

Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron said the SUV’s driver followed the suspects, with both vehicles colliding a short time later.

All four Honda occupants bailed out of the car, Guitron said, and went running through a nearby neighborhood.

The precautionary lockdown lasted about 45 minutes, with police arresting Jimenez and Carmona and recovering a handgun. No one was hurt and the motive was unclear. Guitron said bullets struck the SUV but it was unknown how many shots were fired.

Both men were being held at the county jail in Indio, Jimenez without bail and Carmona in lieu of $1 million bail, according to jail records.