A felon accused of fatally shooting a 36-year-old man as the victim was moving into a Val Verde house is slated to be arraigned next month on first-degree murder and other charges.
Eric “Downer” Marshall Gomez, 42, was arrested almost two weeks ago following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the death of Anthony Ryan Ankenbauer of Hemet.
Gomez was initially charged with attempted murder, and he was formally arraigned on that allegation. But after Ankenbauer died while under intensive care at Riverside University Medical Center, the District Attorney’s Office amended the criminal complaint, and in addition to the murder charge, filed sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations against him.
He’s slated to be re-arraigned on Aug. 31 at the Banning Justice Center and is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center.
According to an arrest warrant declaration filed by sheriff’s Investigator Samantha Siaw, on the night of July 7, Ankenbauer relocated his belongings to a house where the owner was leasing out individual rooms in the 24000 block of Rosebrugh Lane, near Cedar Avenue.
The victim was receiving assistance from his nephew, identified only as “George,” cleaning up and unloading bulk items from a trailer and carrying them into the single-story residence, according to the affidavit.
George later told detectives that, as he was sweeping out the bedroom his uncle had rented, he noticed a man and woman in the neighboring room smoking what appeared to be marijuana. The man was later identified as Gomez, according to the declaration.
Ankenbauer went in and out of the house, telling his nephew at one point that he needed to move his refrigerator into the space. Siaw said that George watched his uncle head out to his vehicle parked along the curb and moments later saw Gomez leave the house, too.
“George then heard gunshots, so he ran outside and saw his uncle bleeding from the abdomen,” according to the investigator’s narrative. “His uncle called out, `Nephew, call 911; I’ve been shot.’ He also saw (Gomez) get into what he believed to be a blue Hyundai Tucson hatchback.”
The witness additionally saw the woman who had been smoking with the defendant come out of the house and exchange words with Gomez, refusing his requests that she get into the vehicle, according to the affidavit.
Gomez fled the location, Siaw alleged. She said when patrol deputies arrived minutes later, Ankenbauer told them specifically that he had been shot by “Downer,” but was unable or unwilling to say anything further.
The victim underwent surgery at the Moreno Valley hospital and remained in critical condition until dying on July 26.
In the meantime, Siaw and other detectives questioned George, the woman at the home, whose identity was not disclosed, and a neighbor who had seen part of the confrontation in front of the property, according to the declaration.
The woman initially tried to dismiss Gomez as someone she barely knew, telling investigators he was her periodic marijuana supplier. However, after procuring her mobile phone under a search and seizure warrant, they uncovered social media messages indicating the two were well acquainted and had spent most of July 7 together, according to the affidavit.
Gomez was ultimately identified by the witnesses as the alleged shooter, investigators said. A motive for what allegedly happened remains unclear.
The defendant was taken into custody without incident on July 17.
Court records indicated that Gomez has documented prior felony convictions that resulted in prison time, but they weren’t specified.