Man accused of firing on 3 officers in Indio pleads not guilty
A man accused of opening fire on two California Highway Patrol officers and a Border Patrol agent in Indio nearly six years ago pleaded not guilty today to new charges that include attempted murder on a peace officer.
Samuel Carrillo Ortiz Jr., 44, of Indio, is accused of firing on the officers on Nov. 26, 2012, at the behest of David Hurtado, 40.
Hurtado was pulled over by the officers at the corner of Cabazon Road and Avenue 48 in Indio, and police say he was seen making phone calls during the traffic stop, allegedly to Ortiz, after which a barrage of gunshots was aimed at the officers from another vehicle at the intersection, according to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant.
Original Story: 2012 Coachella murder suspect charged
None of the officers were struck by the gunfire.
Investigators have since discovered that the phone calls Hurtado made went to Ortiz’s phone, which was tracked from a different part of Indio to a location within 138 meters of the shooting scene, according to the affidavit.
Ortiz, who was arrested in February of 2017, was initially charged with three counts of attempted murder. But prosecutors filed a new complaint Tuesday charging him with three counts of attempted murder on a peace officer, which carries a maximum 15-years-to-life sentence per count. He is also now charged with three counts of assault with a firearm on a peace officer.
Hurtado was sentenced to eight years and eight months in state prison for arranging the shooting. While the actual shooter remained at large, Hurtado pleaded guilty in 2015 to one count each of assault with a semiautomatic rifle on a peace officer, assault with a firearm on a peace officer and discharging a firearm. Three counts of attempted murder on a peace officer were dismissed.
Hurtado has since been charged by federal authorities for alleged possession of methamphetamine, heroin and firearms, which were found in a parked car outside a Palm Springs vacation rental property on Aug. 29, 2017.
Federal authorities took custody of Hurtado in September. He faces a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, if convicted on all counts.
Ortiz is also charged in an apparently unrelated murder case that occurred just three days after the officer-involved shooting.
Ortiz and Hector Castaneda, 29, are accused in the killing of Joel Lerma, 35, whose body was found alongside Avenue 44, west of Dillon Road, about 3:30 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2012.
Sheriff’s investigators allege that just prior to his death, Lerma was in a car with Ortiz, who was driving, and Castaneda, who was in the backseat. During the drive, Ortiz allegedly signaled for Castaneda to shoot Lerma multiple times through the front passenger seat, according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant. Ortiz then allegedly pulled over, tossed Lerma out of the car and shot him one more time before running him over with the car and driving off. The men allegedly torched the car elsewhere.
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