Suspect in 2002 La Quinta Homicide Appears in Indio Court

The suspect charged in a decades-old homicide in La Quinta appeared in court Friday morning at the Indio Courthouse.

Prosecutors say Alex Anthony Uribe, 46, previously pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in connection with the 2002 shooting death of Hernan Marquez, who was 27 at the time.

Investigators say Marquez had been leaving a house party on Avenida Mendoza on August 11, 2002, when an altercation broke out and he was shot and killed.

The case remained unsolved for more than two decades until detectives with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department Cold Case Team reopened the investigation. Authorities say new leads ultimately led to Uribe’s arrest.

A felony settlement conference held Thursday morning was postponed. Uribe is now scheduled to return to court on March 19 at 8:30 a.m. as the case moves forward.