Samuel Pasillas, 47, pastor of a Spanish-speaking church in the Southern California city, paid $40,000 for the Oct. 21 attack, Riverside police said in a Tuesday, March 19, news release.
The target, who was shot while driving in Riverside, survived the attack, police said.
Pasillas is charged with solicitation for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon, police said.
One of the accused hit men, Juan Manuel Cebreros, 55, off Long Beach, also faces the same charges, police said. Investigators are looking for a third man accused in the plot.
The target told officers someone pulled up in a vehicle beside him Oct. 21 in Riverside and opened fire, police said. He drove himself to a hospital to be treated for his injuries.
Investigators learned it was a “murder-for-hire” shooting, police said.
Pasillas paid the men nearly $40,000 and provided them with information on the target’s whereabouts, police said. The two men also conducted surveillance on him.
On March 13, police served search warrants on homes in Victorville, Long Beach and Lynwood. Pasillas and Cebreros were arrested following the searches.
The two men pleaded not guilty at a hearing March 18, KABC reported.
McClatchy News was unable to obtain contact information for either man’s attorney.
An investigation into the shooting continues, police said.
Investigators ask anyone with information to contact detective Nic Cantino at 951-353-7104 or NCantino@RiversideCA.gov. Anonymous tips can be left at RPDTips@RiversideCA.gov.
Victorville is about an 85-mile drive northeast from Los Angeles.
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