A search was underway Monday for a Banning man and woman suspected of fatally shooting a 33-year-old motorist during a confrontation that also later caused a crash on the west end of the city.
Angel De Jesus Barreras, 30, and Viviana Maldonado Moron, 37, allegedly killed Ivan Topete of Banning in the predawn hours Sunday.
“Both suspects are considered armed and dangerous,” Banning police Lt. Brandon Smith said. “For the safety of everyone, the Banning Police Department urges the suspects to surrender to law enforcement.”
According to Smith, shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday, Barreras and Moron were involved in an unspecified dispute with Topete in the 600 block of West King Street.
It was unclear whether the suspects were standing in front of a residence at the location, speaking with the victim, or they were in their own vehicle while Topete sat in his pickup truck.
Gunfire erupted during the encounter, and Topete was hit but managed to drive away with a woman, whose identity was not released, sitting next to him in the pickup, according to Smith.
He said the victim was able to go almost three miles before he lost control of his vehicle in the 5000 block of West Wilson Street, near Holland Home Road, where he slammed into several parked cars, causing the pickup to overturn.
Patrol officers arrived moments later and discovered Topete “had suffered a gunshot unrelated to the collision,” the police spokesman said. The woman suffered unspecified minor to moderate injuries. Both she and Topete were taken to a regional trauma center, where he died a short time later, according to Smith. The woman was in recovery Monday.
Smith said detectives confirmed the location of the shooting and unraveled details that led to the identification of Barreras and Moron as the alleged assailants.
A possible motive was not disclosed, and the exact whereabouts of the pair of suspects were unknown Monday.
Anyone with information was asked to contact detectives at 951-922-3170.