A California pastor has been arrested on various charges for allegedly hiring a hitman to murder his daughter’s boyfriend.
According to police, on Saturday, October 21, 2023, Riverside Police Officers responded to a local hospital regarding a person who just arrived suffering from gunshot wounds from a shooting that occurred around 7:00 p.m. in the Orangecrest neighborhood of Riverside.
The male adult victim told police he was driving on Grove Community Drive approaching Plainview Street when another vehicle pulled up alongside him.
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The gunfire came from this other vehicle, and he was struck several times.
The victim drove himself to the hospital and was treated for his injuries, and officers located evidence of a shooting on Grove Community Drive and Plainview Street.
“Detectives with our Robbery-Homicide Unit conducted a follow-up investigation and were assisted by our Problem Oriented Policing Team and Crime Analysis Unit,” said Riverside Police investigators. “They subsequently learned this was a murder-for-hire shooting. The victim had been dating a woman whose father is a pastor for a Spanish-speaking church in the city of Victorville. The father was identified as 47-year-old Samuel Pasillas of Victorville.”
During their investigation, detectives uncovered evidence the father met with the men he hired and provided them with information about the victim, including his location, the evening of the shooting.
Detectives also determined these men were paid almost $40,000 by the father and had conducted surveillance on the victim in the weeks leading up to when they shot him.
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“On Wednesday, March 13th, and with the assistance from our METRO Team, detectives served search warrants at homes in Victorville, Long Beach, and Lynwood,” said RPD. “Samuel Pasillas was arrested and later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for solicitation for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon.”
He is currently being held on a bail of one million dollars.
Juan Manuel Cebreros, 55, of Long Beach, was arrested and later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon. He is also being held on a one-million-dollar bail.
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