A Jurupa Valley man who shot his 40-year-old cousin because the victim was sleeping with his ex-wife, then set the man’s remains ablaze to cover up the crime, was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder.
After deliberating one day following a nearly two-week trial, a Riverside jury found 39-year-old August Nielsen III guilty of the 2018 slaying of Michael Daniel Reynoso of Jurupa Valley and also convicted him of sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
He is facing 50 years to life in state prison when he’s sentenced by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Stephen Gallon on May 28 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
Nielsen’s co-defendant, 25-year-old Adrian Daniel Chaffino of Riverside, is charged with being an accessory after the fact. He’s free on a $5,000 bond and is tentatively set to be tried in May.
According to the prosecution, Nielsen, Reynoso and Chaffino worked together in construction, and on the night of May 7, 2018, Reynoso and Chaffino decided to stay with Nielsen at his then-girlfriend’s residence in the 5200 block of Bain Street in Jurupa Valley.
Earlier in the day, Chaffino had informed Nielsen that Reynoso was romantically involved with the defendant’s ex-wife. Deputy District Attorney Jon Brandon said Nielsen was incensed about the relationship but waited to confront his cousin.
As the three men were talking in the living room of the Bain Street house, an argument erupted, and Nielsen pulled a handgun, according to the prosecutor, who said Nielsen’s girlfriend later told sheriff’s detectives that she heard at least one gunshot.
He said when she walked out of her bedroom, she saw “Michael on the ground, obviously injured, but appeared to be alive. She stated she did not want to be involved.”
The woman told detectives she retreated to her mother’s room to assist her and then returned to bed, though she admitted going back into the living room in the predawn hours of May 8, 2018, seeing Reynoso’s lifeless body. She then, once again, hid in her bedroom.
The victim was shot once in the stomach and once in the head. The defendant recruited Chaffino and three other men, whose identities have never been confirmed, to help dispose of the remains, according to the prosecution.
The body was placed in a mattress box spring, and then a door was screwed on top of the box spring. The body was taken to a deserted area near Clay Street and Van Buren Boulevard and set aflame shortly after 3 a.m. It was quickly discovered, but almost no physical evidence could be recovered due to the charred condition of the body.
Two months later, Reynoso’s family reported him missing, and that’s when detectives pieced the case together, culminating in conversations with Nielsen’s girlfriend and Chaffino.
By that time, Nielsen had fled to Phoenix and could not be questioned. However, following a search of his living quarters, blood evidence was obtained tying him to the crime, and an arrest warrant was issued, prosecutors said.
The defendant was arrested in Arizona on Oct. 4, 2018, and was soon extradited back to California.
According to court records, Nielsen has a prior misdemeanor conviction for making criminal threats.