Two – including boy, 14 – arrested after Thermal drive-by shooting

May 13, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

THERMAL, Calif. — Already suspected in a drive-by shooting on the same street last week, a 14-year-old boy was apprehended after authorities say he and a man carried out a second drive-by shooting in Thermal Tuesday evening, May 11.

Online records indicate the teen and his adult accomplice were taken into custody in Coachella less than thirty minutes after the shooting was reported. Although officials have said the earlier, May 5th shooting the juvenile is suspected in occurred on the same street, they did not specify if he was suspected of shooting at the same victims or if he targeted a different home in that drive-by.

These two shootings follow a rash of other recent area shootings, including the April 30th fatal shooting of a 25-year-old man at a Coachella apartment complex less than five miles away.

“This has to stop!”, one area resident pleaded after the April shooting, when she learned that she knew the victim and his family.

“People need to speak up,” the woman – who said her house has been shot “a minimum of 13 times”, including nine times over a three month period – implored; adding, “It’s frustrating because these boys are too young to die.”

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Deputies from the Thermal Sheriff’s Station were dispatched to the residential neighborhood in the 83-100 block of Alvarado Avenue, located southeast of Jackson Street and Ella Avenue, at 7:47 p.m. after receiving reports of a drive-by shooting, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Mariano Matos III has since said of the incident and arrests.

Responding deputies learned the passenger of a black Chevy Silverado was seen shooting at an occupied residence before fleeing the scene. Nobody inside the targeted home was injured in the shooting.

Two people, including a 14-year-old boy, were arrested after a drive-by shooting in Thermal Tuesday night. The minor, whose name was not released due to his age, was already suspected in an earlier, May 5th shooting that happened on the same street. Riverside County Sheriff’s Department photos

A short time later deputies searching the Coachella area located a vehicle matching the description provided by witnesses and detained the vehicle’s two occupants.

During a subsequent search of the Chevy, deputies located a loaded 9mm handgun along with spent shell casings, Mariano reported; saying the vehicle was seized as evidence.

As their investigation continued, members of the Southern Coachella Valley Community Service District Team (SCVCSDT) and the Coachella Community Action Team (CCAT) served a search warrant in the 44-700 block of Palm Street, in the city of Indio.

During the service of that warrant deputies located additional evidence to the earlier, May 5th shooting, according to Mariano.

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The adult involved in Tuesday’s shooting has been identified as 21-year-old Jorge Dominguez, of Indio. He was later booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion of attempted homicide, shooting at an occupied dwelling, and criminal conspiracy.

Online jail records indicate he remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bail or bond and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Larson Justice Center in Indio May 14.

The juvenile, whose name was not released due to his age, was booked into the Indio Juvenile Hall on suspicion of attempted homicide, shooting at an occupied dwelling, and criminal conspiracy. Officials did not specify if the minor was also charged in the May 5th shooting.

The Sheriff’s investigation is ongoing and anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact Deputy Perez with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department at (760) 863-8990, or Crime Stoppers at (760) 341-STOP (7867). Callers can refer to incident file number C211310043 and can remain anonymous.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.