Alleged gunman in Cathedral City strip club shooting pleads not guilty
One of three men suspected in a gang-related shooting that killed one man and wounded two others outside a Cathedral City strip club pleaded not guilty today to charges of murder and attempted murder.
Christian Miramontes, 24, is accused along with Manuel Vargas, 30, and Guillermo Gomez, 22, in last Wednesday’s slaying of Jason Rosas, 24, of Indio, outside the Showgirls Gentlemen’s Club.
The men also face special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and discharging a firearm from a vehicle, making them eligible for the death penalty, if prosecutors pursue it.
Vargas and Miramontes were taken into custody over the weekend, while Gomez remains at large and is believed to have fled to Mexico, according to court documents.
Police say the suspects, Rosas and two other men got into a fight inside the club. The fight allegedly spilled into the parking lot after the men were kicked out at around 2 a.m. The men were identified as “two groups of rival gang members” by Cathedral City Police Chief Travis Walker.
According to an arrest warrant declaration, witnesses stated that the men were flashing gang tattoos to each other inside the club. Police did not specify what gangs the involved parties belonged to, but court documents state that they were from gangs operating within the Indio area.
After the fighting guests were kicked out of the club by security, the suspects allegedly went to Gomez’s 2016 Jeep Wrangler and retrieved handguns, the declaration states. Miramontes and Vargas allegedly fired at the rival gang members and then the trio fled in Gomez’s Jeep, which was later found abandoned, according to the document.
All three victims were taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where Rosas died just after 9:30 a.m. The other two victims — a 28-year-old Indio man and a 28-year-old Coachella man — were both expected to survive, police said.
Vargas pleaded not guilty to all counts Monday afternoon.
Both men, who were being held without bail, are due to return to court June 27 for a felony settlement conference.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting or Gomez’s whereabouts was asked to contact Detective Heather Olsen at (760) 770-0398 or Sgt. Rick Sanchez at (760) 202-2488.
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