Man accused of murder in Desert Hot Springs to stand trial

INDIO (CNS) - A 29-year-old man must stand trial for murder stemming from the death of a 20-year-old man whose body was found in the open desert of Desert Hot Springs, a judge has ruled.

Gabriel "Vago" Magdaleno was held to answer last Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on a felony count of murder and a sentence-enhancing allegation of discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury, according to case records.

He is due back in court for a post-preliminary hearing arraignment on Feb. 5.  

Magdaleno is accused in the slaying of David Joaquin Murrieta of Desert Hot Springs, according to Sgt. Rick Espinoza of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. According to court records, 25-year-old Jose Manuel Angel Arellano is also accused in the case, but was charged separately from Magdaleno with murder.

Arellano initially pleaded not guilty to the murder charge in February 2021.

According to Espinoza, deputies from the sheriff's Palm Desert station investigating a missing person case discovered human remains on Jan. 21, 2021, in the area of Mission Lakes Boulevard and Little Morongo Road.  

Sheriff's Det. Martin Alfaro testified in Arellano's preliminary hearing that Murrieta's body was found with three gunshot wounds -- one entering from the back of his head, one from the left side of his head and one from the right side of his chin -- in a shallow grave under a set of metal springs in the open desert.

Alfaro said Arellano drove from Tijuana, Mexico to the Palm Desert sheriff's station on Feb. 17, 2021 to tell "his side of the story'' and alleged that his friend, Magdaleno, was the one who shot Murrieta on Jan. 14, 2021.  

According to Alfaro, Arellano said the trio were at Murrieta's house before they all left in the defendant's truck and drove toward Indio. At some point while Arellano was driving on Intestate 10 approaching Cook Street, Magdaleno and Murrieta began arguing, Alfaro testified.

Both men had guns in their hands during the argument, and Arellano said Magdaleno felt disrespected, according to a declaration in support of Magdaleno's arrest warrant filed by Alfaro.

"Arellano told me that he saw Magdaleno shoot once at victim Murrieta in the back of the head and subsequently saw him shoot him two additional times after,'' Alfaro testified in 2023.

The defendants then drove to the location, where they ended up burying Murrieta with a shovel that was in the back of the truck, Alfaro said.   

Arellano subsequently went to a house on Sixth Street to get rid of his clothes by burning them before driving his truck to Mexico, Alfaro added.   

According to inmate records, Magdaleno was arrested Dec. 13, 2022, with a declaration in support of his arrest being filed by Alfaro on Aug. 18, 2022, according to court records.

Magdaleno pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery in 2014 in Riverside County, according to court records. He did not have any documented felony convictions in Riverside County at the time of his arrest.

Inmate records indicated both defendants are being held at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta on $1 million bail.