Public Safety
Jury Seated in Trial of Felon Accused of Killing Man in Transient Camp
MURRIETA (CNS) – A jury was seated Thursday in the trial of a probationer accused of fatally shooting a Good Hope man during a confrontation in a homeless encampment stemming from a prior feud.
Gerardo Duenas Jimenez, 42, is charged with first-degree murder, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations for the 2019 slaying of 29-year-old Rafael “Rafa” Quintero.
Jury selection began Tuesday and concluded Thursday morning at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer directed jurors to return to the courthouse Monday for opening statements by the prosecution and defense.
Jimenez is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the nearby Byrd Detention Center.
According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney’s Office, Jimenez resided in a transient encampment on a five-acre parcel known as “The Hills,” in the area of Phillips Street and Robles Lane, northeast of Lake Elsinore.
Sheriff’s investigators said illegal activity was known to occur at the site, including unlicensed outdoor marijuana cultivation, in which Jimenez was allegedly involved.
Court papers stated that Quintero was a regular visitor to the encampment, where he had several friends. In mid-January 2019, the victim drove his pickup onto the site and incurred Jimenez’s wrath for driving too fast near the defendant’s RV, prosecutors allege.
According to the brief, there was a confrontation, during which Jimenez told Quintero to stop driving near his residence, prompting the victim to reply that it wasn’t Jimenez’s place to tell him what to do.
“To make his point, Quintero pulled out his handgun and fired it either in the air or at the ground, near Jimenez’s feet,” according to the brief. “Quintero then drove off, only to return later to collect the bullet casings.”
Jimenez was incensed, telling neighbors that “he was going to get (Quintero) back, and that he should not have messed with him,” according to the prosecution.
On the afternoon of Jan. 21, 2019, Quintero returned to the location to visit his friends, and after the victim parked his pickup, Jimenez approached him and confronted him with his hands in his pockets. Several witnesses later told sheriff’s detectives that the two men briefly spoke face to face before Jimenez allegedly pulled a handgun from his jacket pocket and fired twice into Quintero’s chest, the brief said.
The victim staggered back to his pickup, got inside and managed to “put the truck into drive and put his foot on the gas, when the defendant shot him a third time, in his head,” court papers alleged.
“Quintero slumped over the wheel as his truck lurched into another pickup parked in front of it,” according to the brief.
With the help of at least two unnamed and unknown parties, Jimenez allegedly drove the dead man’s pickup into a drainage canal near the intersection of Cakes Place and Keystone Drive, in an unincorporated area southwest of Perris, where Quintero’s body was dumped, according to prosecutors.
His remains were discovered a week later, as was the pickup, culminating in a two-month homicide investigation that culminated in criminal charges against Jimenez.
According to court documents, the defendant has prior convictions for possession of controlled substances and receiving a stolen vehicle.
Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.
By: Pristine Villarreal
April 6, 2023
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