Felon accused in February killing near Indio charged with murder

Murder and other charges were filed today against a 31-year-old convicted felon accused of gunning down a man earlier this year near Indio.

Ruben Corria Esquivel Jr. of Coachella was arrested last Friday after an hours-long standoff near Mecca with sheriff's deputies who were serving an arrest warrant following a five-month investigation into the killing of 42-year-old Vincent Aispuro.

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Along with murder, Esquivel is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He also faces a sentence-enhancing allegation of discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury.

Esquivel is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday via video conference from the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside, where he is being held without bail.

According to Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Richard Carroll, deputies responded about midnight Feb. 21 to an assault with a deadly weapon call in the 47600 block of Van Buren Street in unincorporated Riverside County near Indio and found the gunshot victim, who died at a nearby hospital.

Homicide investigators began working the case, and through unspecified leads, eventually identified Esquivel as the suspect. He was tracked down to a home in the 88000 block of Avenue 70 near Mecca, where he holed up for several hours before surrendering.

A motive for the killing has not been disclosed.

Esquivel has documented felony convictions in Riverside County that include attempted carjacking and three parole violations, court records show.

He was also convicted in 2012 of a misdemeanor for participating in a criminal street gang.