Opening statements begin in deadly 2019 La Quinta shooting case

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) - A man accused of fatally shooting a Halloween partygoer in La Quinta more than six years ago intentionally initiated hostilities, a prosecutor claimed today, while the defendant's attorney argued his client encountered a life-or-death situation that required him to open fire in self- defense.  

Jorge Andres Huerta Arias, 24, of Whitewater is charged with murder and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations for the Oct. 26, 2019, death of 19-year-old Anthony Carrillo of La Quinta.

In his opening statement at the Larson Justice Center Thursday, Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Steve Sorensen told jurors that Arias went to the house party on the 53000 block of Avenida Madero armed with a handgun and intent on causing trouble.

Sorensen outlined how the defendant was active in a "crew" and wore a black hat with the brand clearly visible to reinforce his standing as a member.

While others were dancing to loud music shortly after midnight, Arias turned confrontational, focusing his attention on individuals he perceived as adversaries, the prosecutor alleged.

"Instead of using his hands, the defendant pulls out a gun,'' Sorenson said, adding that Arias unleashed a "volume of shots'' that caused people to leap for cover or run.

Carrillo was in the line of fire and mortally wounded. Someone -- it was unclear who -- returned fire and shot Arias in the buttocks, possibly as he fled from the property, according to the prosecution.

Sheriff's deputies converged on the residence minutes later and discovered the victim in critical condition. He was taken to a Coachella Valley hospital, where he died that morning.

The defendant went to a friend's residence in Cathedral City, where he elicited help. He was taken to San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital in Banning for treatment of his non-life-threatening posterior wound.

Hospital staff notified law enforcement of the patient's arrival, and Cathedral City police officers went to question him because he claimed to have been the victim of a drive-by attack in that city, the prosecutor said.   

He said a search of the area where the supposed drive-by occurred turned up no evidence to support the claim.   

Though he was ultimately connected with the shooting at the La Quinta property, Arias was not immediately arrested. Riverside County sheriff's detectives spent the ensuing years tying together loose ends and gathering sufficient evidence to finally seek felony charges against him in 2025, culminating in his arrest last June.   

Defense attorney Shaun Sullivan challenged the prosecution's narrative, contending that the "case is about survival,'' not murder.   

Sullivan told jurors that Arias went to the party with his cousin and her boyfriend to have a good time -- not to promote his "clique."

The attorney said Carrillo was a member of his own clique and he and Arias had been at odds previously. Sullivan described the victim as a bully, who joined his associates in trying to intimidate the defendant while they attended high school together.

According to the defense, during the Halloween party, his client clearly heard someone shouting, "Smoke this fool; get the gun!'' Arias was instantly in fear of his life.   

"He fires back out of survival, out of fear,'' Sullivan told the jury.   

He acknowledged that Arias fled the scene, but said it was for self- preservation, which he additionally attributed to the young man's choice of hospitals, worrying that if he tried to go to a medical facility in the Coachella Valley, Carrillo's associates might seek him out to finish what they started at the party.

Arias has no documented prior felony convictions in county adult court. He had turned 18 just over a month before the deadly shooting.

The defendant is being held without bail at the Benoit Detention Center in Indio.