Two suspects in the fatal shooting of a man in a downtown Palm Springs parking garage were charged Wednesday with murder.
Eliberto Genera, 23, of Cathedral City, and Jorge Maciel, 20, of Palm Springs, are both accused in the Friday night shooting that killed 31-year-old Adam Ortega of Desert Hot Springs.
Both were charged with murder. Genera also faces enhancements of criminal street gang activity and killing during the commission of a robbery. Maciel was also charged with assault with a semi-automatic firearm and being a felon or narcotics addict in possession of a firearm, along with enhancements for use of a firearm, causing great bodily injury and discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury, as well as a second criminal street gang activity enhancement.
Maciel pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday. Genera appeared in court but it was not immediately clear if he entered a plea.
Palm Springs Police Department officers received a call from a hospital Friday at 10:26 p.m., according to a department statement, informing them about a male gunshot victim who was allegedly injured at a downtown parking structure on the 200 block of South Indian Canyon Drive.
The victim, Ortega, died overnight at the hospital, police said.
At the crime scene, officers gathered information that led to the identification of Maciel as a suspect, according to police. Detectives and officers initiated a traffic stop on Maciel, who was departing a related location with Eliberto Genera and Michael Genera, 23.
Police deployed a K9 unit to apprehend Maciel, while Michael and Eliberto Genera were detained shortly after. Inmate records showed that Michael Genera was released from custody Wednesday.
Further investigation led officers to believe that the shooting happened during an attempted robbery.
Anyone with information related to the shooting was asked to contact Detective Escallada at 760-323-8129 or Crime Stoppers at 760-341-7867.