A convicted felon accused of gunning down a 30-year-old Mead Valley man must stand trial on murder and other charges, a judge ruled Thursday.
Raul Joe Varela, 52, of Turlock was arrested last August following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the slaying of Giovanni Martinez.
At the end of a preliminary hearing Thursday, Superior Court Judge Juan Dominguez found there was sufficient evidence to bound Varela over for trial on the murder count, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for April 13 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The defendant is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Lance Stoyer, Varela allegedly killed Martinez in the area of Elizabeth and Woodward streets in Mead Valley shortly before 9 p.m. on Aug. 7, 2025.
Stoyer said deputies were called to the location to investigate reports of an assault and discovered Martinez outside a house, suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Central Homicide Unit detectives took over the investigation and, within 24 hours, they identified Varela as the alleged assailant, though Stoyer did not provide any further details, including a possible motive.
An arrest warrant was served on the defendant in the predawn hours of Aug. 10, near where the attack occurred. He was taken into custody without incident.
Court records showed a prior strike conviction in another jurisdiction, but it wasn’t specified.