A felon accused of gunning down a 30-year-old Mead Valley man pleaded not guilty Friday to murder and other offenses.
Raul Joe Varela, 52, of Turlock, was arrested in August following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the slaying of Giovanni Martinez.
Along with murder, Varela is charged with sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
The defendant was arraigned Friday before Superior Court Judge Gary Polk, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for March 13, 2026, at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Varela is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Lance Stoyer, the defendant allegedly killed Martinez in the area of Elizabeth and Woodward streets in Mead Valley shortly before 9 p.m. Aug. 7.
Stoyer said deputies were called to the location to investigate reports of an assault and discovered Martinez outside a house, suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Central Homicide Unit detectives took over the investigation, and within two days, they had identified Varela as the alleged assailant, though Stoyer did not provide any further details, including a possible motive.
An arrest warrant was served on the defendant in the predawn hours of Aug. 10, near where the attack occurred. He was taken into custody without incident.
Court records show a prior-strike conviction in another jurisdiction, but it wasn’t specified.