A 40-year-old man accused of gunning down a 17-year-old boy more than two decades ago in a La Quinta neighborhood was charged Tuesday with murder and other offenses.
Eddie Zazueta Jr. of Bermuda Dunes was arrested Friday following a lengthy investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Cold Case Unit into the 2004 slaying of Daniel Medina of Indio.
Along with murder, Zazueta was charged with sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
He pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Tuesday afternoon before Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Tucker, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Aug. 6 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
The defendant is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Jarred Bishop, in the predawn hours of July 5, 2004, there was an unspecified confrontation between Zazueta, then 18, and Daniel in the 52400 block of Avenida Obregon, near Calle Sonora, in La Quinta.
The defendant allegedly pulled a handgun during the encounter and shot the boy multiple times, Bishop said.
He alleged Zazueta fled before patrol deputies and paramedics reached the location minutes later.
Daniel died at a Coachella Valley trauma center that morning.
“During the initial investigation, a person of interest was identified; however, at the time, there was insufficient evidence to support an arrest, and the case eventually went cold,” Bishop said.
Years later, the Cold Case Unit reopened the investigation, ultimately gathering enough evidence to sustain an arrest warrant and charges against Zazueta, though no other details were disclosed by sheriff’s officials, including a possible motive.
He was taken into custody without incident in Desert Hot Springs Friday morning.
The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in county adult court.