A Riverside County judge sentenced three eastern Coachella Valley men this week for a drive-by shooting that sprayed gunfire at a crowded Thermal home last December, an attack that also left a sheriff's patrol car riddled with bullet holes. Guillermo Alexander Martinez received the longest term, 11 years in prison, while Eric Orozco Diaz and Gustavo Isbojet Barrera Pena were each sentenced to eight years.
According to kesq.com, all three men pleaded guilty in August to 16 counts of firearm assault, along with two counts of recklessly discharging a gun, shooting at an occupied dwelling, and firing from a moving vehicle. Their pleas went directly to Riverside County Superior Court Judge Susanne Cho, without any pretrial negotiation between the defense and the District Attorney's Office. Cho handed down the sentences at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Gunfire Tore Through a Packed Thermal Property
The attack unfolded shortly before 10 p.m. on Dec. 5, when the defendants drove to a house in the 88000 block of Avenue 70, near Fillmore Street, and fired a volley of shots at the property, not hitting anyone inside, the station's report states. Fourteen people were present at the home at the time — nine men and five women — all of whom were identified only by first names or initials in court documents, as reported by mynewsla.com.
The victims called 911, and several patrol units reached the scene a short time later. As deputies arrived, an occupant of a vehicle fired multiple rounds in their direction, striking one of the patrol vehicles, per the same kesq.com account. No deputies were injured in the exchange.
A Chase, an Abandoned Car, and Three Arrests
Deputies pursued the suspect vehicle but lost sight of it during the chase. They later located an abandoned vehicle matching the suspects' car parked in the 63000 block of Landon Lane, roughly 10 miles northwest of the shooting scene, the outlet notes. A search of that location shortly after midnight on Dec. 6 led deputies to Pena, who tried to run before he was quickly apprehended.
Diaz and Martinez were taken into custody two days later, on Dec. 8, after they were summoned and questioned at the sheriff's station on Airport Boulevard in Thermal. A possible motive for the shooting was not disclosed, kesq.com reported.
Attempted Murder Counts Dismissed Before Trial
The case had originally included far more serious charges. A judge dismissed five counts of attempted murder that prosecutors had filed against each defendant, finding there was insufficient evidence to support them, according to mynewsla.com's earlier coverage of the case. That ruling came before the trio ultimately entered their guilty pleas in August.
Coverage of the case has varied on the defendants' ages — described as 18 in reporting from December 2025 and as 19 in the October 2026 sentencing report — but both accounts agree all three men are from the eastern Coachella Valley.
