Cathedral City man charged with murder
A Cathedral City man was charged with murder today in the shooting death of a man in Desert Hot Springs.
Edwardo Stultz, 23, was arrested Dec. 13 for his alleged role in the shooting of 37-year-old Coachella resident Johnny Rodrigues, who was found with a gunshot wound around 3 a.m. that day in the courtyard of an apartment complex in the 66100 block of Second Street. He was pronounced dead at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs less than an hour later.
Multiple witnesses were interviewed, leading to Stultz’s arrest at 9 that night near his home in the 28700 block of Landau Boulevard, according to Detective Sgt. Gus Paiz.
Along with murder, Stultz was charged with possession of a firearm and a sentence enhancing allegation for using a firearm. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Tuesday afternoon in Indio.
In the days following Stultz’s arrest, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office did not file charges against him in connection with the shooting, but he remained jailed due to an alleged parole violation, for which he is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Banning.
According to a parole violation report, Stultz was released in September after serving three years in prison for possession of a controlled substance and attempting to evade a peace officer.
The report also indicates that Stultz, identified as a gang member in the document, violated parole by allegedly associating with “prohibited or non-gang validated persons.”
Stultz has remained held without bail at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. He has prior felony convictions in Riverside County for attempted robbery, evading arrest, and possession of controlled substances, according to court records.
