Four Teens Linked To DHS Murder Allowed To Visit Parents

Four teenage boys accused in the slaying of a Desert Hot Springs man during a gang-related fight can visit their mothers at Juvenile Hall, a judge ruled today.

Ruben Alexander Chavez, 14, Steven Ray Arellano, who just turned 14, Omar Hernandez, 16, and Angel David Romero, 15, are being prosecuted in adult court on a first-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of 23-year-old Jose Alvarez Villalobos.

Hernandez, who appeared in court this morning with a bandage around his right arm, faces an additional count of attempted murder for allegedly stabbing a second victim.

A settlement conference — in which attorneys informally discuss a possible resolution to a case before a judge — was delayed until Thursday.

Meanwhile, Riverside County Superior Court Judge William Lebov agreed to granted the teens’ special request to visit with their mothers at Juvenile Hall in Indio.

Juvenile defendants have to ask permission for special requests directly from the court.

The teens were arrested last week on suspicion of killing Villalobos, who died at a hospital following a street fight early last Sunday in the 66000 block of Third Street near Cactus Drive.

Eight other people were also injured in the melee.

A fifth co-defendant, David Larios, 17, was expected to be arraigned this afternoon on a murder charge. Larios was arrested Friday upon his release from Desert Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for injuries sustained during the fight, said Sgt. Dan Bressler of the Desert Hot Springs Police Department.

Two additional arrests are expected, said Deputy District Attorney David Anderson outside the courtroom.

The teens all have connections to the Desert Hot Springs West Drive Locos gang and will face additional gang-related charges in the near future, Anderson said.

Police have not said how the fight began.