DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA – A 22-year-old man involved in the killing of a Desert Hot Springs marijuana dealer during an attempted robbery was found guilty Thursday of first-degree murder and other charges.
Angel Arangure of Desert Hot Springs was also found guilty of three counts of attempted robbery.
Jurors at the Larson Justice Center in Indio also found the allegation of killing during a robbery in connection with the 2020 attack to be true, citing special circumstances.
When he is sentenced on October 4, he faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Arangure’s alleged co-conspirator, 21-year-old Matthew Pineda of Desert Hot Springs, is charged separately, also with first-degree murder, the special circumstances charge and three counts of attempted murder and attempted robbery, with weapons charges and aggravated assault. Pineda, who is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing in September.
Arangure was held at the Benoit Detention Center on $1 million bail.
According to a trial report filed by prosecutors, on the evening of July 14, 2020, the defendant was “hanging out” with Pineda and a young woman, Desirae Salazar, at an apartment in the 10900 block of Santa Cruz Drive, near West Drive, when Salazar said she wanted to purchase marijuana from a trusted source.
The dealer, identified only as “BL,” was contacted by Salazar via Snapchat and agreed to bring her a “cartridge” of cannabis, the letter said.
The man was joined by two male friends, identified only as “AR” and “PE,” and the trio headed to the Santa Cruz Drive residence around 11:30 p.m. Around the time the men pulled onto the road, there had been a call in the area about “shots fired,” and BL’s Toyota Scion was briefly pursued by an investigating sheriff’s sergeant, according to the narrative.
As the patrol unit rounded a corner, the men stopped in front of the Santa Cruz Drive property, and BL reportedly phoned Salazar to say he was waiting outside. Prosecutors allege Pineda informed Salazar and Arangure that he was planning to rob the dealer and asked Arangure for help while Salazar walked outside with the money, apparently unsure if Pineda was just talking or planning the ambush.
Arangure stood in front of the Scion and shone flashlights into the eyes of the marijuana dealer and his two friends in the sedan, blinding them, the filing said.
Pineda shouted, “Give me all your (swear word)!” the document says.
PE, who had the marijuana products on his lap, reached out to hand them to him while BL put the car in gear and stepped on the accelerator. At that moment, Pineda allegedly fired several shots at the vehicle with a .45 semi-automatic pistol, according to the indictment.
One bullet hit PE in the right back of the head, while BL suffered a graze in the neck, the summary said. AR was not hit.
BL managed to drive several blocks, and the sheriff’s sergeant, who had seen the Scion earlier and was still patrolling the neighborhood, noticed the car with the rear window shot out, prompting him to initiate a traffic stop.
He found the occupants “screaming for help” and called an ambulance, the report said.
PE and BL were taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where PE died the next day. BL was treated for his neck wound and eventually recovered.
Sheriff’s detectives quickly identified the suspected conspirators and were the first to arrest Arangure.
“He admitted that they planned to trap the victims and described the robbery in which he was supposed to blind the victims and Pineda had the gun and attempted to rob the victims,” the brief states.
That information led investigators to obtain a search warrant for Pineda within days. When they began asking questions, he allegedly told them, “I’m your man,” according to the indictment.
Because he was under 18 at the time, his case was initially heard in juvenile court, but was transferred to adult court in 2021.
Arangure has no previous convictions as an adult in Riverside County. Background information on Pineda was not available.
No charges were filed against Salazar in this case.
