RIVERSIDE, Calif. (TCD) — Police recently arrested a pastor on suspicion of paying hit men tens of thousands of dollars to kill his daughter’s boyfriend because he did not approve of him.
On Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, Riverside Police Department officers responded to a local hospital after a patient suffered gunshot wounds from an alleged shooting that occurred at around 7 p.m. The victim told police he had been hit several times in a drive-by shooting and quickly transported himself to the hospital for treatment. He survived his injuries.
Investigators determined the shooting occurred on Grove Community Drive and Plainview Street.
Police allege 47-year-old Samuel Pasillas, a pastor in Victorville, met with and paid hit men nearly $40,000 to shoot the victim who had been dating his daughter. According to officers, Pasillas provided the contract killers with the victim’s location and other information. The hit men reportedly surveilled the victim for weeks before the shooting.
As part of the investigation, detectives conducted searches in homes in Victorville, Long Beach, and Lynwood on Wednesday, March 13.
Officers arrested Pasillas and another man, 55-year-old Juan Cebreros, and booked them into the Robert Presley Detention Center.
Pasillas faces charges of solicitation for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon. Cebreros has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon.
Pasillas and Cebreros each remain held on $1 million bail.
According to KABC-TV, police are actively looking for another person of interest, Jesus Abel Felix Garcia. His whereabouts are unknown.
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