Man suspected in fatal shooting in Indio re-enters not guilty pleas
A 37-year-old suspected in the fatal shooting of a man in Indio re-entered not guilty pleas today to felony charges including murder.
Hilario Muela of Indio was charged with one felony count each of murder, being a convicted felon and narcotic addict in possession of a firearm, possessing controlled substances while armed, and possessing ammunition, according to court records. He also faces a sentence-enhancing allegation of discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury.
He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges Feb. 7, 2023 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
After a preliminary hearing Nov. 27, 2023, a Riverside County Superior Court judge discharged the controlled substances charge and ruled that there was sufficient evidence to hold Muela to answer on the remaining charges and allegation.
He re-entered not guilty pleas to those charges and denied the allegation Friday morning at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Officers responded at about 1:10 a.m. Feb. 3, 2023, to a report of someone who had just been shot in the 45-600 block of Smurr Street, according to Ben Guitron of the Indio Police Department.
Guitron said that when officers and Cal Fire Riverside personnel arrived at the scene, they found an unidentified man with a gunshot wound, dead in front of a house.
Muela was subsequently identified as the suspect and taken into custody.
He remains held at the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio on a $1 million bail bond.
Anyone with information on the shooting was asked to call the police department at 760-391-4051 or Valley Crime Stoppers anonymously at 760-341-7867 (STOP).
