Local & Community
Alleged Gang Members Plead Not Guilty to Killing Boy in Cathedral City Drive-By
INDIO (CNS) - Two young men accused of killing a 13-year-old Cathedral
City boy in a gang-related drive-by shooting pleaded not guilty Wednesday to
first-degree murder and other charges.
James Ian Carter, 19, and Christian Arturo Milward Ildefonso, 18, were
arrested last month following a Cathedral City Police Department
investigation into the slaying of Alan Martinez.
Along with murder, both defendants are charged with criminal street
gang activity, special circumstance allegations of perpetrating a murder for
the benefit of a criminal street gang and shooting a victim from a moving
vehicle, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
The defendants were arraigned jointly before Riverside County Superior
Court Judge Arthur Hester, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for
Nov. 17 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Each man is being held without bail -- Carter at the Byrd Detention
Center, and Ildefonso at the Benoit Detention Center.
According to police, the attack happened just after 8 p.m. on Aug. 13
at the intersection of Whispering Palms and Mission Indian trails.
Alan was walking with two friends on Whispering Palms when the
defendants allegedly pulled alongside in a dark-colored sedan and engaged them,
police spokesman Jon Enos said.
He alleged that within seconds, gunfire erupted from the vehicle, and
Alan was hit and collapsed onto the street. His companions, whose identities
were not disclosed, escaped injury, running away.
The car sped off as witnesses called 911, according to Enos.
Paramedics arrived minutes later and attempted resuscitative measures,
but Alan died at the scene.
In the ensuing days, homicide detectives garnered sufficient evidence
to identify the defendants as the alleged perpetrators. They were tracked to a
property on Genesee Cove in San Diego, where they were taken into custody
without incident on Aug. 18.
Neither man has documented prior felony convictions in Riverside
County adult court.
Copyright 2025, City News Service, Inc.
By: City News Service
September 25, 2025
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