A man accused of fatally stabbing a 37-year-old Riverside resident during a confrontation outside an apartment complex pleaded not guilty Monday to a murder charge.
Andrew Eric Lemus, 27, of Riverside was arrested earlier this month following a Riverside Police Department investigation into the Feb. 21 slaying of Daniel Penunuri.
Along with the murder count, Lemus is charged with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a knife in the commission of a felony. He was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gail O’Rane, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for May 20 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The judge kept Lemus’ bail set at $1 million. He’s being held at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
According to Riverside police Officer Javier Cabrera, Lemus and Penunuri were involved in an unspecified confrontation in the 6100 block of Crest Avenue, just west of Riverside Municipal Airport.
During the early morning encounter, the defendant allegedly pulled a knife, inflicting “multiple wounds” and leaving the victim unconscious and bleeding to death before he fled. Passers-by spotted Penunuri on the ground and called 911, Cabrera said.
The victim died at a hospital shortly after arrival.
In the ensuing days, detectives obtained information pointing to Lemus as the alleged perpetrator. No other details were disclosed.
He was taken into custody without incident on Tomlinson Avenue during the afternoon of March 6.
Lemus has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.