Pair suspected in deadly Indio shooting plead not guilty

Two men arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old man in Indio a month ago pleaded not guilty today to murder charges.

Christian Brooks Andrade of La Quinta, 20, and Adrian Vega of Coachella, 22, were arrested Thursday on suspicion of fatally shooting 24-year-old Alejandro Lupercio of Indio, the Indio Police Department said.

Andrade and Vega were charged Tuesday with one felony count each of murder and sentence-enhancing allegations of using a firearm. In addition to murder, Vega is also charged with a sentence-enhancing allegation of committing the crime while on bail.

They appeared at the Larson Justice Center in Indio later Tuesday for arraignment, where they pleaded not guilty to the charges and were scheduled for a felony settlement conference on Jan. 27.

Andrade was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center, where he is being held on $2 million bail. Vega remains jailed at the Robert Presley Detention Center on $1 million bail.

Police found Lupercio dead with multiple gunshot wounds at around 3 a.m. on Dec. 13 in the 45900 block of Duquesne Street. The death was reported by people who lived with Lupercio, according to police spokesman Ben Guitron.

There was no word on a possible motive for the shooting.