Man accused in deadly Cathedral City shooting in re-enters not guilty plea

A 30-year-old man accused in a fatal shooting in Cathedral City re-entered a not guilty plea to a murder charge today.   

Along with a murder charge, Jose Ernesto Martinez of Desert Hot Springs faces a sentence-enhancing allegation of discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury.

He re-entered a not guilty plea to the charge and denied the allegation at the Larson Justice Center on Thursday during a post-preliminary hearing. A trial-readiness conference was scheduled for Nov. 28.

Martinez was ordered to stand trial on the charge during a preliminary hearing on Oct. 13.

He was arrested on June 26, 2021 on suspicion of gunning down 27-year-old Isaac Valles of Rancho Mirage earlier that morning. He allegedly killed Valles at the conclusion of a domestic dispute, according to the Cathedral City Police Department, which did not elaborate on the nature of the argument.

Officers sent to the 31800 block of Neuma Drive about 2:40 a.m. found the victim lying in the roadway, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, police said.

Despite first responders' attempts to revive him, Valles was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives collected "ample witness statements and crime scene evidence" that pointed to Martinez as the suspect, who was arrested in Desert Hot Springs about two hours after police initially arrived on scene, jail records show.

Martinez remains held at the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio on $1 million bail.

Martinez has no documented felony convictions in Riverside County.