A Victorville pastor and one of the men he allegedly hired to kill his daughter’s boyfriend were arrested after a shooting in Riverside left the boyfriend injured, Riverside police said.
The victim was shot the evening of Oct. 21 while driving on Grove Community Drive approaching Plainview Street, police said. A vehicle pulled up alongside him, and gunfire came from that vehicle, hitting him multiple times in the upper body, police said.
A bullet struck the his phone, so he could not call for help, police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback said.
Instead, the victim drove himself to the hospital and was treated.
Detectives obtained forensic evidence from the shooting scene and the victim’s vehicle and learned he had been dating a woman whose father, Samuel Pasillas, 47, of Victorville is a pastor at a church in that city, police said.
Pasillas met with the men he hired to kill the victim, police said, providing them with information about the victim, including his location on the evening of the shooting.
Detectives determined these men were paid almost $40,000 by the father and had conducted surveillance on the victim in the weeks leading up to the shooting, police said in a statement.
The motive for the shooting might be related to Pasillas’ religious beliefs, but the investigation is still ongoing, Railsback said.
On March 13, authorities investigating the shooting served search warrants at Victorville, Long Beach and Lynwood homes. Pasillas was arrested in Victorville and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of solicitation for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
Juan Manuel Cebreros, 55, of Long Beach was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon by Riverside police in Long Beach.
Both suspects were arrested on March 13 and held on $1 million bail.
Pasillas and Cebreros pleaded not guilty on Monday at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The possibility of additional suspects was being looked into as a part of the ongoing investigation, Railsback said.
Anyone with additional information can contact Detective Nic Cantino at 951-353-7104 or at ncantino@riversideca.gov.
City News Service contributed to this story.
