Testimony to start soon in trial of gang member accused in Cathedral City park shooting

Jury selection is expected to wrap up next week for the trial of a gang member accused of joining a teenage cohort in attempting to gun down a rival in a Cathedral City park -- but wounding a young mother and a boy playing soccer instead.

Ivan Raya Reynoso, 22, of Cathedral City is charged with attempted murder, gang activity, two counts of firearm assault and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations for the 2021 attack.

Trial proceedings were moved from the Larson Justice Center in Indio to the Riverside Hall of Justice last week due to lack of courtroom availability in the Coachella Valley. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Sam Shouka began screening prospective jurors just prior to the Christmas break.

The process is expected to conclude by Jan. 3. Reynoso is being held on $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.   

According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney's Office, the defendant and a teenage associate, identified only as ``A.G.,'' both documented members of the Barrio San Rafael Gang, went to Ocotillo Park in the 33000 block of Moreno Road on the evening of March 26, 2021, with the apparent intent of confronting members of a rival street gang.   

Prosecutors alleged Reynoso's associate was armed with a pistol.    The pair soon encountered a young man affiliated with the rival gang, identified only as ``N.G.,'' and a verbal confrontation ensued, during which A.G. began ``yelling gang slurs'' at N.G., who responded in kind, the brief said.

Reynoso and his associate started to retreat from the park, and N.G. followed them, prompting A.G. to pull his handgun and open fire, court papers alleged.

The bullets missed the gang rival and struck a young mother, identified in court documents only as ``Pilar,'' who was walking with her baby. She was struck in the chest and collapsed to the ground. Her toddler wasn't hit.

Another bullet hit a boy, identified only as ``Steven,'' standing in the shoulder as he stood on a soccer field, according to the brief.   

Reynoso and A.G. immediately ran from the park, jumping over a wall and fleeing on foot, prosecutors alleged.   

Multiple witnesses spotted them, including one who captured them running away via his cell phone video camera, the brief said. Cathedral City police officers swarmed the area in response to 911 calls, and the defendants were arrested minutes later.

Pilar and Steven were taken to a Coachella Valley hospital for treatment, and both victims ultimately recovered from their wounds.   

A.G. was charged similarly to Reynoso, but his case was transferred to Riverside County Juvenile Dependency Court. No information was available regarding its disposition.

Reynoso has no documented prior felony convictions in adult court within the county.