While Palm Springs police continued investigating the weekend deaths of four people found at two crime scenes, three of the victims were identified through online fundraising efforts being conducted Thursday by their families.
Citing the online fundraisers, The Desert Sun identified the three victims as Jacob Montgomery, 19, Juan Duarte Raya, 18, and Yuliana Garcia, 17. The three were found dead inside a vehicle following a traffic crash Sunday night at Sunny Dunes and El Placer roads, and police said all three had been shot.
A fourth person, identified by police only as a man in his 20s, was found shot to death about 35 minutes later at Canon Drive south of Theresa Drive.
None of the victims have been formally identified by police or the coroner’s office. Police said Tuesday they were still working to determine if the shootings were connected.
Montgomery’s mother, Dana Beauchemin, set up a GoFundMe page, saying donations “will go to help pay for funeral expenses.” KESQ reported that the first person to find out about Montgomery’s death was his grandmother, with whom he lived in Cathedral City.
Duarte Raya’s aunt, Patricia Mendoza, confirmed to The Desert Sun she created a GoFundMe page, saying “her sister and Duarte Raya’s mother had lost another son four years ago of brain cancer at age 15.”
“I want to raise money to help my sister out, she has gone through so much,” Mendoza wrote on the page.
A similar fundraiser was established on Facebook for Garcia by a family friend, The Desert Sun reported.
“She was only 17 years old, just a teen full of life who didn’t deserve this!” according to the fundraising page. “She left behind her family and friends who love her dearly.”
Police said Tuesday a person of interest in the killings was in custody and being held in connection with a separate, unspecified case. Police Chief Bryan Reyes declined to provide details on the person of interest, including when the man was arrested or specifically why he is jailed.
The traffic crash at Sunny Dunes and El Placer was reported at 11:40 p.m. Sunday, leading police to discover the three people dead inside a vehicle. Reyes said all three had been shot, but it was still not verified if they died from the gunshot wounds or the traffic collision.
About 35 minutes later, police received a report of a “male lying in the road” on Canon Drive south of Theresa Drive. The victim had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Although his name has not been released, but police said they believe the man was a Palm Springs resident.
Reyes said investigators were still working “across the valley, working multiple locations looking for additional information” to determine if the shootings were related, and if the person in custody can be linked to both scenes. If the four deaths are eventually determined to be related, Reyes said it is likely the worst mass killing in the city’s history.
“We cannot recall the last time we had four victims,” he said.
Other agencies involved in the investigation are the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Riverside County District Attorney’s gang-impact team and the East County Post-Release Accountability and Compliance Team.
Police asked any residents in the area of Canon Drive and Sunny Dunes Road who may have security cameras to review footage from 11:20 p.m. Sunday through 1 a.m. Monday, and contact police if they spot anything unusual on the footage.
“Just taking the time to go review your footage and see something that seems a little bit unusual and report it,” Reyes added. “That might be the smallest piece of information, but it may be the piece of information we need to progress this overall investigation.”
Anyone with information was asked to call police at (760) 323-8115. Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers at (760) 341-7867.