A 46-year-old Moreno Valley resident was arrested early Sunday, June 23, after a man was gunned down outside a Perris gym and the suspect crashed at the end of a police pursuit about an hour later.
No motive was announced for the shooting, which happened in the parking lot of Planet Fitness at 1690 N. Perris Blvd.
The victim’s name was not immediately announced.
Ernesto Lopez Jr., 46, of Moreno Valley, was arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was shot to death in the parking lot of Planet Fitness in Perris on June 23, 2024. (Courtesy of Riverside County Sheriff’s Department)
The shooting was reported around 12:16 a.m., the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Deputies learned unspecified information about the shooter, and around 12:48 a.m., sheriff’s helicopter deputies found the suspect’s car in Beaumont. Deputies tried to pull over the car, but it fled.
The pursuit ended at Florida and Acacia avenues in Hemet, a sheriff’s news release said.
Ernesto Lopez Jr. was arrested without further trouble, the release said. He was booked on suspicion of murder and felony evading and being held without the possibility of bail at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
The department asked anyone with information on the slaying to call it at 951-955-2777.
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