Two Las Vegas men accused in Desert Hot Springs murder plead not guilty to charges
Two young Las Vegas men suspected in a murder near Mission Springs Park in Desert Hot Springs in December have pleaded not guilty to felony charges and are set to make their next court appearance next week.
Emanuel Castaneda, 18, and Carlos Hernandez, 19, were arrested in Las Vegas Jan. 16, when they were initially booked and held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center, according to the Desert Hot Springs Police Department.
They were subsequently booked into Riverside County jails Monday evening, according to inmate records. Castaneda remains held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside without bail, but Hernandez was released from the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta Wednesday on a $10,000 bail bond.
Castaneda was charged Jan. 10 with one felony count each of murder and robbery, according to court records. He additionally faces sentence-enhancing allegations of discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury and a special circumstance allegation of murder in commission of a robbery.
Castaneda pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied the allegations at the Larson Justice Center in Indio Wednesday, when Hernandez was charged with one felony count of being an accessory aid, according to court records. He pleaded not guilty to the accessory charge the same day at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Their next court appearance was set for Feb. 9 at the Larson Justice Center.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Detectives and Criminal Apprehension Team worked with DHSPD Detectives in the early morning hours of Jan. 16 to serve arrest warrants at two locations in Las Vegas, police said. At the conclusion of the warrants, Castaneda and Hernandez were taken into custody without incident.
On Dec. 17, 2023, at around 7:02 p.m., officers responded to a report of gunshots in the area of 66700 block of Park Lane, according to police. Upon arrival, officers found a man with gunshot wounds.
"Officers provided medical care until CalFire and AMR paramedics arrived and transported the victim to the hospital,'' police wrote in a statement. "Despite lifesaving measures, tragically, the victim succumbed to his injuries."
The victim, identified in court records as Matthew Rios, was taken to the Desert Regional Medical Center in critical condition with gunshot wounds, according to a declaration in support of Castaneda's arrest warrant filed by DHSPD Detective C. James. He noted that, at the scene, there was numerous spent cartridge cases and Rios' blood in front of the restrooms.
After being notified that the victim was pronounced dead at 8:40 p.m., James said that a small black pocketknife with blood on the blade was located in Rios' pants pocket.
James added that, based on photos in Rios' phone, he saw that the victim had a pair of Beats headphones and an imitation diamond necklace just before the shooting, and that it was apparent that those items were robbed from him during the murder.
On Dec. 28, 2023, detectives received a call from LSVPD, who said that someone had come forward with information about Castaneda having visited the Palm Springs area on the weekend of the murder and that when he returned he had a stab wound to his torso and said he shot and killed someone, but refused to contact the police or seek medical attention, according to James.
The detective said that he was also provided with the suspect's phone number and based on his cell phone GPS locations, he was found to have been around the park at the time of the shooting, as well as him leaving Desert Hot Springs and going back to Las Vegas just after the shooting, James wrote.
Anyone with information on the fatal shooting was asked to call Detective Chris James at 760-329-2904, ext. 351, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 760-341-7867 (STOP).
