A man accused of gunning down a 31-year-old San Jacinto woman and trying to kill her companion in a premeditated attack was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and other charges.
Daniel Antonio Cortez Acevedo, 27, of San Jacinto allegedly killed Anna Meza for undisclosed reasons in 2017.
Along with the murder count, Acevedo is charged with attempted murder, a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
The defendant, who is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside, was slated to make his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon at the Banning Justice Center.
Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Jesse Martinez said the identity of Meza’s alleged killer required a “lengthy investigation” by Central Homicide Unit detectives, spanning well over six years.
The victim was walking with a man identified in court documents only as “J.M.” in the 100 block of North Dillon Avenue, near Main Street, on the afternoon of Nov. 12, 2017, when Acevedo allegedly approached them and pulled a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol, opening fire, according to investigators and prosecutors.
Meza was shot to death in the street. J.M. was not wounded.
The assailant, then unknown, fled the scene.
Investigators initially had little information on the circumstances and asked for the public’s assistance, but few clues surfaced.
Martinez did not disclose what detectives uncovered that finally led them to Acevedo.
He was taken into custody without incident following a traffic stop in San Jacinto on Friday.
Court records show the defendant has a prior misdemeanor conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm.