Felon charged with gunning down man on Morongo reservation near Banning

BANNING, Calif. (CNS) - A felon accused of gunning down a 50-year-old man in a drive-by attack on the edge of the Morongo Indian Reservation northeast of Banning was charged on Wednesday with first-degree murder and other offenses.

Robert Eugene Leonard, 43, of Beaumont, was arrested over the weekend following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation into the slaying of Orlando Lara of Banning.

Along with murder, Leonard was charged with being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm, being in possession of controlled substances while armed, a special circumstance allegation of perpetrating a murder in a drive-by and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

The defendant made his initial court appearance Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Jay Kiel, who appointed him a public defender and scheduled his arraignment for July 16th at the Banning Justice Center.

Leonard is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

Lara's remains were discovered shortly before 11 p.m. June 25 in the 47000 block of Morongo Road, near Cottonwood Road, along the upper boundary of the reservation, according to sheriff's Sgt. Alberto Loureiro. He said passers-by discovered the remains and called 911.

"Upon arrival, deputies found the male with a traumatic injury," Loureiro said, confirming there were "obvious signs" the victim had been shot to death. The likely circumstances and motive were not disclosed.

Within two days, Central Homicide Unit detectives amassed sufficient evidence pointing to Leonard as the alleged shooter. He was tracked to a residence on the reservation, where he was taken into custody without incident late Friday night.

Court records did not list Leonard's prior convictions, which occurred in another jurisdiction.