Man arrested in 2012 Indio murder case pleads not guilty
An Indio man was behind bars today after pleading not guilty Monday to charges related to a 2012 shooting that killed an Indio woman and left another man injured.
John Paul Cortina, 36, was arrested on Oct. 14 for suspicion of carrying out the shooting in Indio on July 11, 2012, according to Benjamin Guitron, public information officer for the Indio Police Department.
"It's a story of evidence. It's a story that takes time to put together and the longer time the more work that gets done to it," said Guitron. "That's what took time with this case. The detectives would get some leads, and then it would stop and then get additional leads and information. And they would stop and then it would pick up again, eventually, the suspect was identified."
The Riverside County District Attorney's Office said Cortina has been charged with one felony count each of murder, attempted murder, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and gun-related sentence-enhancing allegations.
Cortina appeared at the Larson Justice Center on Monday where he pleaded not guilty to the charges and was scheduled for a felony settlement conference on Oct. 27.
He is being held at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta on $1 million bail.
Indio police officers received a report at around 9:20 p.m. on July 11, 2012, of a shooting at the intersection of Daisy Street and Primrose Avenue and arrived on the scene to find two victims who had been shot, according to Guitron.
The female victim, identified by the family as Isela Duran, 45, was struck in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.
Information at the time revealed that a suspect was seen fleeing the scene but no further information was available for some time. Years later, investigators identified Cortina as the suspect responsible for the shooting, though how he was identified was not revealed by the police department.
Guitron said it's not uncommon to have cold cases for several years.
"It's not just about closing them. It's about reaching who is responsible because all victims have family have friends that care and they want closure. We want closure" said Guitron. "The case never closes until someone is arrested."
