A suspected gang member who allegedly gunned down a 20-year-old man and wounded his friend in a drive-by attack in Riverside late last month was being held without bail Friday.
Steven Daniel Carrillo of Riverside was arrested Tuesday night and booked into the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
According to Riverside police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback, Carrillo allegedly targeted Derrion Thomas of Rialto and two other occupants of a vehicle driving in the area of Chicago and University avenues on the night of Oct. 26.
Railsback alleged that the victims were passing another car, occupied by Carrillo, when gunfire erupted.
The suspect allegedly unleashed multiple rounds, striking Thomas in the upper body and another occupant in one of his legs, according to the police spokesman.
The wounded driver managed to speed out of the Eastside neighborhood but crashed into a utility pole, where witnesses came to the victims’ aid and called 911, Railsback said.
Paramedics arrived within a few minutes and immediately began life-saving measures on Thomas, who was taken with his wounded friend to Riverside Community Hospital, where the Rialto man died a short time later.
The man with the leg wound has since recovered.
Railsback did not disclose a potential motive, but he noted that the police department’s Gang Intelligence Unit was instrumental throughout the investigation.
The east end of Riverside, north of UC Riverside and south of downtown, has been the site of gang-related clashes and killings on numerous occasions in the past.
Carrillo was identified as the alleged perpetrator based on undisclosed leads, Railsback said.
The suspect was taken into custody without incident as he left a residence in the 2300 block of Candlestick Way in Perris.
Information regarding his background was not immediately available. The case has been submitted to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office for review.