Shooter Pleads Guilty To Attempted Murder Following Coachella Parking Lot Violence

INDIO, CA — A man who shot a motorist as the victim got into his vehicle in a Coachella parking lot pleaded guilty Monday to attempted murder and other charges and was immediately sentenced to 24 years in state prison.

Issac Marquez Vargas, 26, of Thermal admitted the attempted murder count, along with sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations, and an allegation of perpetrating a felony while on bail, under a pretrial agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors dropped several related enhancements against Vargas.

During a hearing Monday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Tucker certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

The shooting occurred shortly before 2 a.m. on May 30, 2022, in the 49200 block of Cesar Chavez Street, near Grapefruit Boulevard, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Sgt. David Aldrich said at the time that the victim, whose identity was not disclosed, had returned to his vehicle from a business in a strip mall when Vargas confronted him.

The sergeant said Vargas pulled a handgun and shot the man multiple times, then fled the scene. It was unclear whether an attempted carjacking or robbery had been planned.

Deputies and paramedics arrived minutes later and found the victim in serious condition. He was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs and ultimately recovered from his wounds.

Vargas was identified as the shooter within days and taken into custody on June 16, 2022, following a brief standoff at his residence in the 84200 block of Redondo Sur.

Not long before the shooting, he had posted bail in connection with a theft-related case that was apparently disposed along with the others Monday.