Duo Pleads Guilty To 1984 Cathedral City Murder

Two men who remained at large for more than 20 years admitted their roles in a fatal shooting in Cathedral City and will serve prison terms ranging from 11 to 15 years, a district attorney’s spokesman said today.

Luis Duran, 47, and Emiliano Sauceda, 51, fled to Mexico following the April 30, 1984, shooting, and avoided arrest for more than two decades, District Attorney’s Office spokesman John Hall said.

A third suspect, Jose Humberto Hernandez, is believed to still be in Mexico, he said.

Duran and Sauceda entered their pleas at the Larson Justice Center on Wednesday in the shooting death of Leonardo Baez Arredondo, who lived in Cathedral City.

Duran pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder count and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Sauceda pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, receiving an 11-year term, Hall said.

Both were initially charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Arredondo, whose body was found dead in a sandy desert lot on the east side of Landau Boulevard near Avenue 30 in Cathedral City.

Investigators believe the killing was linked to a rumor that had been circulating about the victim being involved in an affair with a woman related to Duran, who was 20 at the time. Sauceda was 24.

Investigators identified the trio as suspects within days of the killing, according to prosecutors. Investigators believe the three went to the victim’s home and asked him to come outside to speak with them.

Detectives theorize that Arredondo stepped outside and the three men forced him at gunpoint into their vehicle and took him to a nearby vacant lot, where they shot him several times and fled.

Warrants for all three men were issued in the spring of 1984. Sauceda was the first to be arrested, on June 29, 2007, after crossing the border in San Luis, Ariz.

Duran was arrested by Mexican authorities in April 2008 and fought extradition. His appeal was eventually denied, and he was extradited to Riverside County in July 2009.