Robert Joe Mageno, a 75-year-old Hispanic man, was remembered by family as a quiet person who loved his children, family gatherings, and the music of the 1960s and 70s. He was living in a residence on Canberra Way in Riverside, California, where several people leased rooms.
On Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, an argument broke out around noon between one of the residents, 27-year-old Christopher Jacob Lennox, and his girlfriend who was visiting. According to police, Lennox retrieved a handgun and shot his girlfriend. As she fled the room, Mageno appeared from his own room and was also shot by Lennox. The girlfriend managed to escape across the street.
Witnesses called the police, and officers arrived at the Mission Grove neighborhood home to find Lennox, who was pointed out as the suspect and taken into custody without incident. Across the street, they located Lennox's girlfriend, who was wounded but conscious.
She was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and has since recovered. Inside the residence, officers found Robert Mageno suffering from gunshot wounds. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. A handgun believed to have been used in the shooting was recovered from inside the home.
Lennox was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on a $1 million bail. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office charged him with murder for Mageno’s death, as well as attempted murder, domestic violence, and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations. At his arraignment, Lennox pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In May 2025, following a preliminary hearing, Superior Court Judge Jennifer Gerard ruled that there was sufficient evidence for Christopher Jacob Lennox to stand trial for first-degree murder, attempted murder, and the other related charges. A post-preliminary hearing arraignment was scheduled for the following month. As of May 2025, Lennox remained in custody as he awaited trial.
