Local & Community
Opening Arguments Set in Trial of Man Accused of Shooting Girl in Passing Car
INDIO (CNS) - Opening statements are scheduled today in the trial of a
parolee accused of shooting a girl in the head and endangering other
children as they rode in a vehicle near downtown Indio.
Vicente Manuel Reyes, 30, of Thousand Palms allegedly perpetrated the
attack in 2018 and has been awaiting trial ever since.
Reyes is charged with two counts of attempted murder, as well as
sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations and an allegation of
being a prior-strike felon.
After weeks of jury selection at the Larson Justice Center, Riverside
County Superior Court Judge Anthony Villalobos on Tuesday seated a jury,
directing the panel to return to the Indio courthouse Wednesday for the
prosecution's and defense's opening arguments.
Reyes is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Benoit Detention
Center.
According to the Indio Police Department, on the night of May 20,
2018, the convicted felon allegedly fired on the vehicle as it traveled through
the area of John Nobles Avenue and Monroe Street.
Reyes was on the street at the time. A possible motive for the alleged
attack wasn't disclosed by the police department, which characterized it
only as a ``senseless act of violence.''
Inside the vehicle were the adult driver, whose identity was not
released, along with a 15-year-old girl, 13-year-old girl, 5-year-old girl and
15-year-old boy, whose identities also weren't provided.
A bullet from the handgun struck the oldest girl in the head, police
said. The driver was nearly hit, too.
The girl was taken to a Coachella Valley trauma center for surgery and
survived, though the long-term impact of the gunshot wound hasn't been
detailed.
Reyes was identified as the alleged assailant three days later and was
arrested without incident in the area of Edom Hill and Varner roads in
Cathedral City.
Court records showed that in 2012, the defendant and two other
juveniles stabbed a boy in the parking lot of an Indio movie theater. Reyes was
prosecuted as an adult and pleaded guilty to felony assault less than a year
later.
He was sentenced to five years in state prison but was paroled in the
summer 2017, according to court documents.
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
By: City News Service
April 29, 2026
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