Jose Eduardo Del Real, 29, was fatally shot on August 12, 2024, at about 8:00 a.m. near Cajalco Road and Haines Street in Mead Valley. Good Samaritans attempted CPR and paramedics pronounced Del Real dead at the scene. Investigators linked the shooting to a vehicle theft reported minutes earlier in the 19000 block of Summerwind Trail, less than a mile away, though Del Real’s exact involvement in that theft is unclear.

Multiple arrests followed. On August 20, 2024, 26-year-old convicted felon Juan Cristoval Ambriz of Perris was charged with murder, aggravated kidnapping, and firearm possession after already being in custody on unrelated matters. Also on August 20, 31-year-old Daniel Santos Ambriz and 21-year-old Samantha Insley, both from Perris, were apprehended in Lawton, Oklahoma; Daniel faced a homicide arrest warrant and Insley was held for aiding and abetting pending extradition. By September 6, 2024, Daniel Ambriz and Juan Cristoval Barra (also known as Ambriz) pleaded not guilty to charges that include murder, kidnapping, and firearm possession and were held without bail. Insley has a prior carjacking conviction; court records list prior felonies for the Ambriz men. The investigation remains open.

Anyone with information about Del Real’s killing is asked to contact the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.