Police Release Surveillance Video Of Parking Lot Murder

DESERT HOT SPRINGS – Desert Hot Springs police today publicly released surveillance video of a man believed to have fatally shot a 45-year-old man outside a supermarket.

Chi-Lu “Tony” Chen was shot about 11 p.m. Saturday outside the Vons at 14200 Palm Drive and died at Desert Regional Medical Center, Desert Hot Springs police Sgt. Dan Bressler said.

Investigators have been trying to determine a motive for the shooting and hope that the video will bring witnesses forward.

“Somebody who sees this video will know this suspect,” Bressler said.

“They will know they were out at this hour. They will know he came back nervous and stressed in some way. They will know that he has a gun. They will know he was involved in something he shouldn’t been.”

Bressler said the video shows the suspect walking up to the store right before Chen was shot, then running away after shots were fired.

The gunman was described as Latino, 18-25 years old, with short cropped hair and wearing a dark baggy T-shirt and a dark bandana.

He was armed with a silver-colored handgun and last seen running west, across Palm Drive and through the parking lot of a Kmart, police said.

The shooter accosted a man on a pay phone near the entrance to the Kmart and demanded the person’s keys, stating that he needed a car. The man refused, and the suspect left the Kmart parking lot on foot, according to Bressler.

Chen had recently moved back to the Coachella Valley to work in sales and marketing at the Agua Caliente Hotel and Mineral Water Spa on Palm Drive, according to Bressler.

Chen had moved from Foster City, which is about 15 miles south of San Francisco. His first day on the job was Thursday.

The sergeant said Chen was known as a personable guy with a talent for sales. Chen had lived in Palm Springs previously, where he worked as a real estate agent, Bressler said.

“This guy was an innocent victim,” Bressler said.

Investigators are trying to piece together Chen’s last day.

The sergeant said that Chen was seen at the Point After Sports Pub & Grill in Cathedral City around 10:45 Saturday night.

But investigators do not know why Chen went to Vons after he was at the bar.

“What was he doing that day?” Bressler asked. “Was he going to the store because he needed cigarettes? Was he going to he store to meet someone?”

Anyone with more information about the killing was asked to call police at (760) 329-2904, ext. 358.