Murder and other charges are expected to be filed Thursday against a convicted felon suspected of gunning down a 75-year-old man and shooting a woman during a dispute at a south Riverside residence.
Christopher Jacob Lennox, 27, of Riverside was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Jail Sunday on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, domestic violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Lennox is being held on $1 million bail. His case is under review by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
He allegedly killed Robert Joe Mageno of Riverside around noon on Easter Sunday in the 7600 block of Canberra Way, near Trautwein Road, in the Mission Grove quarter.
According to Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback, the attack happened during an unspecified verbal confrontation between Lennox and his girlfriend, whose identity was not disclosed, at the suspect’s residence, where several people lease rooms, including Mageno.
“The suspect retrieved a handgun and shot his girlfriend,” Railsback said. “When she fled the room, Mageno appeared from his room, and the suspect shot him. The girlfriend was able to flee across the street after the shooting.”
Witnesses called police, and patrol officers converged on the location, locating the woman wounded but conscious. She was taken to a Riverside hospital, where she remained in critical condition Wednesday, according to Railsback.
Mageno was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Officers took Lennox into custody without incident.
“They located a handgun inside the home … believed to have been used in the shooting,” the police spokesman said.
Jail records indicated Lennox has prior convictions, but they weren’t listed.