A 20-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing a 51-year-old fellow Moreno Valley resident during a confrontation in the victim’s house pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder.
Jose Luis Hernandez was arrested in July following the alleged attack on Mauricio E. Moreno in the 13800 block of Sylmar Drive, near Cottonwood Avenue.
Along with murder, Hernandez is charged with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony.
Hernandez was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge David Gunn, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Jan. 25 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Hernandez is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Richard Carroll, Hernandez got into a dispute with Moreno for unspecified reasons while inside the victim’s single-story house about 11 p.m. on July 10.
Carroll alleged that Hernandez pulled a knife and plunged it into Moreno, prompting witnesses to call 911.
Patrol deputies and paramedics reached the location within a few minutes and found the victim in grave condition. He was taken to nearby Riverside University Medical Center, where he died a short time later, Carroll said.
Hernandez was taken into custody without incident at the house.
Hernandez has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.