Fourth and final shooting suspect picked up in Mexico

The last of four suspects to be arrested in connection with the gang-related drive-by shooting of a man in Indio was tracked down in Mexico and brought back to the Coachella Valley today, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
Cesar Monzon, Jr., 26, is accused along with co-defendants Angel Lopez, 28, Andrew Marquie Malanche, 25, and Jose Antonio Armendariz, 32, in the Aug. 7
shooting death of Adrian Valdez, 22, of Indio.
All four men are charged with murder, criminal street gang activity and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. A special circumstance allegation that the crime was committed for the benefit of a gang makes them potentially eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
Monzon was a fugitive until Monday, when a fugitive task force located him in Mexicali.
According to John Hall of the D.A.’s office, members of the Fugitive Apprehension Unit had discovered that several of Monzon’s family members lived in Mexicali. The information was relayed to a fugitive task force that conducted surveillance and arrested him.
He was transferred into the custody of D.A.’s investigators and Indio police detectives today and was being held without bail at the Riverside County jail in Indio pending an initial court appearance tomorrow at the Larson Justice Center, Hall said.
Monzon’s co-defendants are awaiting a Sept. 13 arraignment date.
The men are accused of firing on Valdez and others from a Chevrolet Caprice and a Toyota Sequoia, but were met with return fire, according to a declaration filed in support of an arrest warrant.
Valdez was found at 12:43 a.m. Aug. 7 in the 82600 block of Mountain View Avenue and died at Desert Regional Medical Center about four hours after being brought to the hospital.
Surveillance footage from an Indio 7-Eleven store and from Mountain View Avenue show the occupants of the Chevy and Toyota congregating and then traveling to the scene of the shooting, according to police.
A security camera from a nearby home captured both cars heading west on Mountain View Avenue and making a U-turn, then gunfire coming from the Toyota’s driver and passenger side windows.
According to police, Lopez and Malanche showed up at Indio’s JFK Memorial Hospital that day, both with gunshot wounds. Malanche was hospitalized with a single gunshot wound, deemed “serious,” while Lopez was grazed by a bullet on his left side.
Hospital security told police that upon arrival, Lopez was seen taking a backpack from the Chevy and hiding it near the north side of the emergency room. Police found the backpack, with two handguns and 40 rounds of ammunition inside.
Lopez told police that he was inside the Caprice during the shooting, but did not admit to shooting Valdez, the declaration states. He was initially arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, as well as a probation violation, after he was discharged from the hospital.
Malanche told detectives that he was driving near Mountain View Avenue with Lopez that night when they were fired upon. Malanche said he was “scared” and fired six shots from his .38 caliber revolver in retaliation. He also said Lopez fired six to eight shots from a .22 caliber pistol, according to the declaration.
Malanche was arrested on Aug. 18 following his recovery from the wound he suffered in the shooting.
Armendariz was arrested after police found that the Toyota was registered to an Indio woman, who told police that Armendariz usually drove the car, according to the declaration.
Police found Armendariz at the woman’s home on Aug. 8 and arrested him on an outstanding warrant alleging assault with a deadly weapon.
Police said Armendariz refused to speak with detectives about the shooting, but a warrant was served to search the Toyota. Three bullet holes were seen on the outside of the car and .22 caliber and .38 caliber ammunition was found inside.
Detectives were tipped to Monzon’s alleged involvement after a parole officer told them that Monzon had cut off his GPS ankle monitor on the night of the shooting, the declaration states.
His movements just prior to the shooting brought him to within 40 yards of the Mountain View Avenue residence, according to the declaration. The parole officer told police that the ankle bracelet was removed shortly after 12:50 a.m.