Current:Home > StocksFormer Texas officer charged with murder in California hit-and-run, prosecutors say-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Former Texas officer charged with murder in California hit-and-run, prosecutors say
View Date:2025-01-11 12:29:04
A former Texas law enforcement officer is now facing murder charges in connection to the hit-and-run death of a California man. The man leaves behind a wife and seven children.
Prosecutors in California made the announcement this week. A press release from the Riverside County District Attorney's Office states that 31-year-old Giovanni Ceja is charged with second-degree murder in connection to the death of 38-year-old Gilberto Sotelo, of Lake Elsinore, California.
The fatal hit-and-run took place Aug. 7 on Interstate 215 in Lake Elsinore, a city in western Riverside County, according to information from prosecutors and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) who responded to the crash.
According to KABC-TV in California, Ceja was on vacation in California at the time of the crash and returned to work back in Texas "without informing his own department about the incident, even when he started answering questions from Southern California investigators."
Ceja, an ex-correctional corporal with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office in San Antonio, Texas, pleaded not guilty Monday to one count of second-degree murder and one count of hit-and-run involving death, prosecutors wrote in the release.
According to the release, Ceja entered his plea during an arraignment at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Vermont police launch manhunt for 'armed and dangerous' suspect after woman found dead
Allegations of driving under the influence
Ceja is accused of driving while drunk, running his vehicle into the victim as well as the victim’s disabled truck, then driving away. The crash, the California Highway Patrol reported, took place during the early morning hours on the southbound shoulder of the freeway.
Sotelo was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the release.
The CHP later identified Ceja as the driver, the release continues, and Ceja was arrested by his law enforcement agency in San Antonio on Aug. 14.
Ceja was extradited by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on Aug. 27.
New Mexico AG charges police officer in fatal shooting of Black man at gas station
A husband and father of seven
An online fundraiser created by the victim's niece Veronica Sotelo last month to help pay for medical bills had raised more than $46,000 at last check on Friday.
His niece posted on the page that her uncle is survived by his wife and seven children.
"My aunt was there when it happened as she experienced the (worst) moment of her life as she called 911," the victim's niece wrote. " Your help and donations will go towards helping with the burial and helping my aunt and the kids with anything they may need during their time of mourning the loss of a wonderful husband and father."
Jailed without bond
Online records show Ceja remained jailed without bond Friday.
He is slated to appear in court next on Jan. 30, prosecutors say.
It was not immediately known if he has hired an attorney.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.
veryGood! (95476)
Related
- UConn, Kansas State among five women's college basketball games to watch this weekend
- Cuba welcomed at Little League World Series and holds Japan to a run but gets no-hit in 1-0 loss
- Family of U.S. resident left out of prisoner deal with Iran demands answers from Biden administration
- Oregon wildfire map: See where fires are blazing on West Coast as evacuations ordered
- Mississippi Valley State football player Ryan Quinney dies in car accident
- NBA Christmas Day schedule features Lakers-Celtics, Nuggets-Warriors among five games
- A 9-year-old boy vanished from a Brooklyn IKEA. Hours later, he was dead, police say.
- Dramatic video footage shows shooting ambush in Fargo that killed an officer last month
- 13 escaped monkeys still on the loose in South Carolina after 30 were recaptured
- Leonard Bernstein's children defend Bradley Cooper following criticism over prosthetic nose
Ranking
- Lululemon, Disney partner for 34-piece collection and campaign: 'A dream collaboration'
- Mississippi issues statewide burn ban at state parks and fishing lakes
- Billy Dee Williams' new memoir is nearly here—preorder your copy today
- Victims of deadly 2016 Tennessee fire will have another chance to pursue lawsuits
- Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson weighs in on report that he would 'pee in a bottle' on set
- Britney Spears and husband Sam Asghari separate after 14 months of marriage: Reports
- 'Suits' just set a streaming record years after it ended. Here's what's going on
- South Korea’s spy agency says North Korea is preparing ICBM tests, spy satellite launch
Recommendation
-
Kate Hudson and Goldie Hawn’s SKIMS Holiday Pajamas Are Selling Out Fast—Here’s What’s Still Available
-
Pass or fail: Test your Social Security IQ using this quiz
-
North Carolina Republicans finalize legislation curbing appointment powers held by governor
-
Tennessee Titans WR Treylon Burks has sprained LCL in his left knee
-
Man gets a life sentence in the shotgun death of a New Mexico police officer
-
Former Alabama correctional officer convicted in 2018 inmate beating
-
Stranger Things Fan Says Dacre Montgomery Catfish Tricked Her Into Divorcing Husband
-
Mississippi judge declares mistrial in case of 2 white men charged in attack on Black FedEx driver