A convicted felon accused of fatally shooting a 20-year-old Menifee resident and wounding the victim’s friend was charged Thursday with murder and other offenses.
Kenneth Alan Harmon, 21, of Menifee was arrested Tuesday following a months-long Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the slaying of Antonio Quintero.
Along with the murder count, Harmon is charged with attempted murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
He was being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside and slated to make his initial court appearance Friday at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Espinoza, detectives identified Harmon as the alleged perpetrator after developing leads that ultimately enabled them to obtain and serve an arrest warrant.
Espinoza said Quintero and an associate were in his vehicle, parked in the 28000 block of Sparacio Road, just east of Antelope Road, on the afternoon of Feb. 9, when the defendant allegedly opened fire on them.
A motive was not disclosed, nor were any details available regarding how he knew the men.
Deputies were sent to investigate the shooting and discovered the men. The shooter had fled, Espinoza said.
Quintero and the other victim, whose identity was not disclosed, were discovered unconscious and “suffering from traumatic injuries,” Espinoza said.
The men were taken to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley, where Quintero died a short time later. The other man survived and has since recovered.
According to court records, Harmon has prior convictions for malicious destruction of property, illegal possession of a gun, burglary, being under the influence of drugs while armed and receiving a stolen vehicle.