A young man accused with others in the shooting death of a 16-year-old Moreno Valley boy was charged Tuesday with firearm assault.
Avon Orville Lee Owens, 18, of Moreno Valley, was arrested Friday following a three-month-long Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the slaying of the teenager, identified in court documents only as “John Doe.”
Owens, who is being held in lieu of $30,000 bail at the Robert Presley Jail, was slated to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The principal party allegedly involved in the shooting, identified only as a 17-year-old Moreno Valley boy, was booked into Riverside Juvenile Hall last week. His case was pending in Riverside County Juvenile Dependency Court. No other details on the defendant were available because he’s a minor.
Two other adults charged in the case are Ebony Nicole Grimes and Chauncey Jyaire Simpkins. Grimes, who is free on her own recognizance, is charged with being an accessory after the fact, while Simpkins, whose arrest was pending Tuesday, is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
They were expected to be arraigned in the coming weeks.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Kelleher, shortly before 8 p.m. last Dec. 30, there was an unspecified confrontation between the victim and two of the defendants in the 22000 block of Town Circle, near Campus Parkway, just south of the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway.
During the encounter, shots were fired, and the boy suffered a mortal wound, Kelleher said.
The victim died at the scene. A possible motive wasn’t disclosed.
Kelleher said Central Homicide Unit detectives actively worked the case, developing leads that ultimately pointed to the defendants as the individuals behind the alleged attack.
Search warrants were obtained and served on them last week, resulting in the arrests of Owens and the teenager charged in juvenile court.
Owens has no documented prior felony convictions in county adult court. Background information on the others was unavailable.