Adelanto residents plead guilty to attempted murder in Palm Desert mall parking lot shooting

A pair of suspects accused in a shooting at a Palm Desert shopping center entered guilty pleas today to attempted murder and other charges.

Adelanto residents Allen Curcio Adams Jr. and Alexander Brice Alvarado, both 21, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder, one count of assault with a gun and two counts of assault causing great bodily injury at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to case records.

The victims were identified in court documents only by their initials.

Judge Kristi Hester immediately sentenced both men to state prison for a total of 16 years, according to Thalia Hayden of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

Adams and Alvarado were initially charged with four felony counts of attempted murder and one felony count each of shooting at a vehicle dwelling and being a convicted felon and narcotic addict in possession of a firearm, according to court records. Amended information was filed with the new charges on Tuesday.   

Deputies from the Palm Desert station responded around 2 p.m. on Feb. 2, 2023 to reports of shots fired at the mall in the 72-800 block of Highway 111, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Shortly afterward, the sheriff's station alerted the public that a shooting had occurred in the south parking lot of the mall.   

"Based on the investigation, it is believed the incident was a car-to- car, gang-related shooting, with over 40 rounds fired,'' the statement read. "Thankfully, no one was injured during the incident."

The same day, two "people of interest'' from Desert Hot Springs were detained and several search warrants were served for the ongoing investigation, officials said.

"The two detained the night of the incident were later determined to be possible victims,'' a spokesperson with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department told City News Service. "As a result, they were released, and no charges were filed against them."  

The Palm Desert Investigations Bureau subsequently identified Adams and Alvarado as suspects in the shooting and last Wednesday, investigators and the Riverside County Gang Impact Team served a search warrant in the 11100 block of Hyattsville Street in Adelanto, authorities said.

Following the search, Adams and Alvarado were arrested and booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, where they were held without bail.