A man accused of gunning down a 44-year-old Indio resident during a confrontation on the east end of the city pleaded not guilty Friday to first-degree murder and other charges.
Efren David Bracamonte, 21, was arrested Wednesday following a years-long investigation by the Indio Police Department.
Along with murder, Bracamonte was charged with sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
He pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Friday before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Dean Benjamini, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Sept. 23 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Bracamonte was being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.
His co-defendant, 21-year-old Isaac Anthony Martinez, who was charged separately as an accessory after the fact, made his initial court appearance before Superior Court Judge Arthur Hester Tuesday. The judge appointed him an attorney and scheduled his arraignment for Oct. 10 at the Indio courthouse.
Martinez was being held on $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
Bracamonte allegedly killed Steven Matthew Sanchez on Dec. 23, 2022.
According to Indio police Sgt. Abe Plata, the defendant and Sanchez were involved in an unspecified confrontation in the predawn hours at a residence in the 45900 block of Grace Street, near Highway 111.
Plata and court documents allege Bracamonte pulled a handgun and fired multiple rounds, gravely wounding the victim.
The defendant then allegedly fled, with Martinez’s assistance, according to prosecutors.
Paramedics pronounced Sanchez dead at the scene minutes later.
Homicide detectives spent the ensuing 32 months developing leads, rechecking evidence and witnesses, ultimately identifying Bracamonte as the alleged shooter and Martinez as the other implicated party, Plata said.
The latter defendant was taken into custody after a search warrant was served at a property on Jefferson Street in Indio on Sept. 5. A warrant was served on Bracamonte five days later on Las Flores Way in Thousand Palms, where he was taken into custody without incident.
Neither defendant has documented prior adult felony convictions in Riverside County.